Jamshedpur: On May 27, 2025, the results for Jharkhand Academic Council class X (matriculation) examination were declared, where 47 students from Masti Ki Pathshala passed with flying colours. 55 per cent of the 47 candidates were girls, and all of them are first generation learners, being the first in their family to acquire formal education. 22 students secured first division, 20 of them backed a second division and five students got a third division, recording a 100 per cent success rate. 13 out of 22 students in first division are girls, showing a welcoming sign of changing times, where girls are equally encouraged to claim spaces and opportunities in education.
Last year, Masti Ki Pathshala recorded the first batch of eight students passing their matriculation since the programme was initiated a decade ago. Now, few of them are well on track with their first job offer, having completed their course in Industrial Training Institute, Tamar. While others are completing their higher studies. Masti ki Pathshala is a programme enabled by Tata Steel Foundation back in 2014, which mobilises children, bringing them out of the worst forms of labour, through regular counselling, equipping with ideas of using education as their weapon of choice to emerge as financially stable and independent, to bring their families out of generational poverty. When the children are convinced and give their consent to drop all petty and odd jobs to pursue education, they are given two options – either enrol in a residential bridge course or opt for a non-residential bridge course – to complete their education free from all sorts of distraction. The residential bridge course offers a hostel-like set-up with teachers, facilitators, counsellors at every facility. The non-residential bridge course lets the children who has a safe home to go back after classes, but also offers regular counselling and guidance sessions.
A part of the credit for this incredible achievement, however, goes to all the teachers who have spent uncountable days and hours in identifying these children from public places, counselling them on opportunities through education, motivating them to be the best version of themselves and putting up with all the mischief encounters before everything fell into place. With a tone of nostalgia, Sabitri Murmu, a teacher with Masti ki Pathshala since the beginning, shared, “It has taken a lot of patience, understanding and regular counselling to bring the children up to this stage. All of them are uniquely talented and blessed with intellect, but always channelised it in wrongful ways. Many of them tried to escape from the hostel, even after we had written permission from their parents. They came up with the most innovative ways to scare away teachers or create ruckus. But as I see them now, I feel that all those efforts have paid off and the children have found a new direction to their dreams.”
In a repartee, Partha (name changed) said, “I had a lot of problems at home and the environment was very negative. That made it very difficult to concentrate and almost failed my pre-board examinations. I gave up and lost all the focus. But the teachers encouraged me and brought back my zeal to study, and I put extra effort to keep myself distracted from domestic chaos. I used to revise all day and solve sample questions. Then I finally did well and felt relieved that I am getting closer to my aspirations. Someday, I want to climb Mount Everest as climbing has been my passion. It helps me to stay focused through tough times.”
The Residential Bridge Course (RBC) centres were built on the tenet of fair governance and the teachers made a parliament with the students to instil a sense of accountability and responsibility. They were all given key positions like food minister, safety minister and similar
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designations to manage the centres as their own state. It started as a leadership building exercise but eventually developed into a disciplinary routine which kept the students motivated and engaged. Ravi Pathak (name changed) was the first appointed president of the centre, being from the senior most batch. He said, “We did a lot of mischiefs like taking out metal pipes from football pumps to cut through the main gates and run away silently at night or dressing up at ghosts and scaring teachers away. But the longer we stayed there, the more we realised the importance of a safe shelter where we did not have to worry about food or any other thing. We may not have been free, but we were always safe. So, when I was elected as president of the RBC, I decided to positively influence all my peers. Even now I go with the teachers to few areas and try to inspire the children through my story and encourage them to pursue education as the only means to get financial independence.”
When Masti ki Pathshala, an initiative to promote equal education for all, enabled by Tata Steel Foundation, started, Ravi, Partha and Avik were the first few students to join the programme. The first batch of 46 boys from Masti ki Pathshala, Tinplate, were mainstreamed in 2018 in Kashidih CBSC board English medium school. They were admitted in different classes as per their age-groups. In 2024, 8 boys appeared for the board examinations and three children have secured first division with highest being 69 per cent and 3 children got 2nd division scoring above 55 per cent.
