[ Bengia Ajum ]
MIPI, 22 May: In a remarkable story, the Emudu Seven Lakes Trekkers, a group known for conducting treks in the famous seven lakes of the Dibang Valley district, have revived the fortune of a government middle school here. Once upon a time, the remote border government middle school Mipi was renowned in the Mipi circle of Dibang Valley. Many govt officers, professionals, engineers, and successful entrepreneurs are the alumni of this school.
However, for a long period, the school remained defunct due to which the district administration temporarily allocated the school campus to the Indian Army. Things started to change when Sajan Mipi, a former student, visited the area after many years, having pursued higher studies and a career in teaching.
Upon return, Sajan discovered that the schools in the region, including his beloved government middle school Mipi, had become defunct. Only two or three schools remained operational.
“When my team, the Emudu Trekkers, and I inquired about the reasons for this decline, we were told various reasons. Some blamed the lack of a school management committee, others pointed to the shortage of teaching staff, inadequate support from concerned departments, or a failure of political leadership. Everyone seemed to blame each other, but no one was ready to seek a solution,” shared Sajan while talking to this daily.
Determined to address the issue, his team, ‘Emudu Seven Lakes Trekkers,’ initiated discussions on how to revive the defunct government middle school Mipi-the lone school in the area. “Our discussions spanned approximately six months, primarily due to our limited funds.
Restarting the school was challenging,” he added. The team faced obstacles like enrolling new students, renovating classrooms, teachers’ rooms, running the school kitchen for mid-day meals, starting hostels for both girls and boys, restructuring the school management committee, posting new teachers, convincing the local public of the value of the education and evacuating the army personnel from the school campus.
In June 2023, the Emudu trekker’s team along with local youths began surveying to identify the number of students deprived of their basic right to education in the area.
“We found more than 20 children under the age of seven who had been out of school for two and a half years. Despite facing discouraging remarks from the public and senior citizens of the area, we persisted in our efforts. Our team initiated a donation drive, collecting approximately 27,000 INR from local seniors and collecting materials such as study supplies, tables, chairs, blankets, filters, utensils, and sports items. We also contributed over a lakh from our own pockets to support hosteller students with daily necessities,” said Sajan.
Their hard work is starting to yield results as now after almost a year and a half, 24 students are studying at the school. “Our team provides hostel facilities to more than seven students, offering beds, blankets, mattresses, shoes, umbrellas, and evening classes, with the support of the school faculty,” he added.
Nevertheless, the challenges remain such as the lack of electricity preventing the team from offering smart classes and insufficient funds to provide hostel accommodations for all students.
“We urge the state government to support our school by providing hostel provisions, similar to a residential school setup, so we can offer a more inclusive, quality education to our students and fulfill their basic rights,” Sajan appealed.
