Chhattisgarh: Teacher weeds out extremist ideology from minds of children through education

Kanker (Chhattisgarh) [India], October 2 : As an educator, the teacher can positively impact the fertile minds of youngsters. This stands true and has been proved time and again by a teacher in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh.
Gaukaran Pradhan, a teacher posted in the Nilegondi village of the insurgency-hit Kanker district has been successful in shaping the budding minds of students in the district while inspiring them to serve the people of the country.

Speaking to ANI, Pradhan said, "When I got posting at Nilegondi, the literacy of the village was very poor and only one person in the village had passed class 8. Due to the lack of education, children were not able to differentiate between wrong and right."
The teacher further said that he hadn't realized the enormous obligation that was required to shape the future of the village students until a child, Pila Bai Netam stated that she wanted to become a Naxalite in his class.
Pradhan said that he was worried by her answer and thus decided to start imparting the significance of quality education and the crucial factor of a teacher in the lives of students.
The teacher then started meeting with the people of the village and detailed to them about the importance of good education and the need to 'educate' children by sending them to schools.
After a lot of effort, his dedication and influence in the village coaxed parents to send their children to school regularly.
The teacher worked on the ‘thinking processes’ of his students, enabling them to open their psyches.
After a short while, the child who once wanted to become a naxal changed her mind and to the delight of her teacher expressed her desire to become an IAS officer.
In the absence of facilities for education and without the influence of an educator or guide, many other children like the girl had made up their minds to become a Naxalite in the village.
However, with the direction and guidance of the teacher's efforts, the village is witnessing a wind of transformation.
Gaukaran Pradhan keeps several children of the village with him and ensures their education.
Pradhan is an example of a teacher who enables children to build up their qualities and assist them in overcoming their shortcomings.
Teachers are the ‘lead by good example’ mentors in young lives and are the medium, the potter’s wheel, so to speak, through which the clay gets shaped.
Teachers like Pradhan devote their lives to teaching children how to examine and comprehend the world they are presently living in while equipping them with skills for the future that’s yet to unfold.