“I am Sumit Kumar Thakur, I study in Class II in Drabala Government Primary School.” This is how the self-assured seven-year-old boy introduces himself. And why not, he has the whole school to himself.

Well, he happens to be the only student in this government primary school atop a hill overlooking the Satluj river in Drabala village, under Karyali gram panchayat, Himachal Pradesh, just over 60 km from Shimla.

Hogging all the attention, Sumit has no problem being the only student. “I like it this way,” he says.

It is not as if the school always had one child. At one point there were 40 students, and even last year there were seven. But over the years, with most neighbouring villages getting their own schools, the older children moving to secondary schools and the migration of villagers from Drabala, enrolment has been dropping.

In Drabala there are no other boys or girls of Sumit’s age. His father is a driver in a private bus service and out of home the whole day. Sumit is too young to go on his own to another school five kilometres away. His mother, Indra, cannot accompany him as she has a 10-month-old child to attend to. “My child has learnt much more than what boys older than him would know,” she says.

A novel experience

For his teacher Pooran Chand, running a one-student school has been a novel experience in his 20-year teaching career. “It felt odd in the beginning, but I have got used to it now.”

He, however, believes this situation is not ideal for the child’s overall development. He has asked the authorities if he could take Sumit to participate in events or at least interact with other students once a month at another school nearest to them.

He has to devise ways to ensure his student does not get bored and, at the same time, derives all the advantages of being tutored personally by a teacher appointed solely for him. “I try to maintain the time-table for all subjects, though I do give Sumit the liberty of choosing the subject to start the day with.”

Teacher and friend

Naughty as boys of his age generally are, Sumit admits that sometimes he gets scolded for not paying attention. “But I am not scared of him,” he says, looking fondly at his teacher.

Chand says he has the task of being both a friend and teacher to Sumit. “In addition to teaching, I play with him, tell him stories, listen to the stories he has been reading; sometimes drawing pictures together or simply talking about things helps.”

Both seem to have developed a special bond with each other. Sumit looks forward to the Mondays his teacher returns from his monthly visit to his village, as he always brings him chocolates and other sweetmeats, and even small games. Sometimes both of them play cricket.

Sumit also gets VIP treatment from the lady who cooks the school’s midday meal. “I try to make what he prefers while following the prescribed menu.”

In Himachal Pradesh, given the difficult terrain, sparsely populated tribal and interior areas, more than 4,600 of its 10,700 primary schools have fewer than 20 students each. Until last year, there were 451 schools with only up to five students each. The State government shifted the students in 109 of these schools to other nearby ones. Twelve of these have since been re-opened.

Manmohan Sharma, Director Elementary Education, says that while such rationalisation exercises are an ongoing one, the department also wants to ensure no child is denied education for want of a school in the vicinity, even if it means catering to just one student. “One cannot expect a primary school student to travel alone in difficult terrain even for a small distance.” A noble thought that is ensuring education for Sumit.

The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi

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