Who can forget Mowgli, the fictional but endearing boy-hero of Rudyard Kipling’s classic Jungle Books, set in the forests of India? Now, over a century after Kipling penned the immortal character, we have a school in the vicinity of Uttar Pradesh’s Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, set up for inculcating love of nature and wildlife among the children of the region.
The Mowgli School, as it is called, has been the brain child of sub-inspector Satyendra Kumar, posted in the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) of Katarniaghat Sanctuary.
Today, after three years, the seed sown by Satyendra Kumar has grown into such a huge tree, under which the future of about 350 children is being nurtured. Mowgli School is becoming modern and better due to the efforts of Divisional Forest Officers (DFO) of Katarniaghat Forest Area Mr Akash Deep Badhawan, an IFS Officer of 2016 batch. It is mainly because of him that this unique school and the children studying in it are constantly counselled and taught in an entertaining and productive manner.
Mowgli School
Mr. Akash Deep keeps on inventing new methods from time to time so that the interest of children towards studies in the school is not diminished. Recently, he had also provided sports material for various games like carrom board, volleyball, football, badminton and cricket to the children for their extra-curricular activities.
Said Mr Akash Deep in an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, “There are many communities living in and around the forest area and who are dependent on forest life. Many of them also come from marginalized societies. Human-wildlife conflicts are very common in the Motipur Buffer Range of Katarniaghat, especially due to the attack of the leopards. On an average, we rescue one leopard every month. Just last month, two children were killed by the leopard! That is why it is very important to make the local residents aware and get their support, as we cannot take the animals elsewhere and being a tiger reserve, we cannot even block the roads. But to make them aware and instill confidence in them, we started some activities. One of them is to expand and improve Mowgli School.”
Mr. Akash Deep added, “We realized that students need practical and modern education along with good books. On an average, about 90 children come here every day to study, while the total number of children is around 350. Now the parents of the children are also becoming aware and we are getting a lot of support from them too. They feel that the forest department cares for them too.”
How does Mowgli School run?
The range campus of Motipur is huge. The school is run for the children in the same campus. There is also an auditorium here, and now the Forest Department is planning to teach children in a modern way by installing a projector here. According to Mr. Akashdeep, children will learn more with interactive e-learning facilities and will also enjoy studying. Forest personnel, Veterinary, STPF personnel, PAC personnel and other people of the department render their services as teachers.
Mr. Akash Deep says, “Our idea is that along with basic education, children should be taught other creative streams like ecology (ecology), photography, wildlife, tour guide courses and wildlife photography etc. Along with children, now even teenagers are also coming to the school. This will help them to become trained and self-reliant. I believe that if economic self-reliance comes, it will be better for them as well as the community.”
Interestingly, Akash Deep raises funds for Mowgli School through WhatsApp groups. Many of his friends have also poured in donation. But he feels this is just a beginning, and there are many more miles to cover.
