This Teacher From Kerala Civilized An Entire Tribal Hamlet Situated Deep In The Forest

While most of the crowd is busy heading to urban locations amongst the posh public, a man from Kerala chose to teach a group of tribal children of the “Kattunaykar” community in Pulpally, Wayanad district.

Sukumaran TC, the school teacher, was first posted in the forest area of Chekkady village back on January 1, 2001, with no accompanying staff. There wasn’t even a proper building. However, he had to start his work in the tribal community somehow.

Sukumaran took up the mission without the slightest hesitation.

Civilization never reached the hamlet let alone education. So, when they saw the teacher, they were very shy and uneasy living in an unhygienic state. The Kattunaykar community that lives deep in the forest does not have any contact with the outside world.

“It was a long wait in the colony, men, children, and women went inside and I could see them looking from inside their huts through small holes but they were not coming out. I was determined and waited and waited; finally, a woman Kali, came out, and befriended me. I told her my mission – it was to start a single-teacher school within the colony for tribal children and she readily agreed,” narrates Sukumaran to IANS.

Despite all the taboo and hesitation in the community, Kali wanted her children to receive an education.

But the major issue pertained – the lack of a school building. Sukumar was determined and he did not wait for the government to assist him for the same. He tilled the soil, cut some bamboos, thatched with palm leaves, and started a shanty, and converted it into a school with just 2 students.

Sukumaran not only taught them but also started with bathing his own students, cut their nails, hair and also cook food for them.

“While I used to bathe them and cut their nails a special bonding developed between the colony people and me and I decided that I will continue with my life here.”

He also noticed the lack of adequate food with the tribals. That’s when he proposed to provide breakfast to children as most of them don’t have anything to eat. Soon, a social worker provided the necessary materials from a shop, and the teacher had to carry the groceries and cook them and feed the children. It consisted generally gruel with green grams – a common breakfast in Kerala villages.

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Later on, when the DPEP(District Primary Education Programme) program officers visited the school premises, they found that the children were much healthier. As a result, this proposal was then implemented in the whole of Wayanad district soon spreading across the state with most of the Gram Panchayats and Local Legislators taking the initiative to provide breakfast to children. Mid-day meals were already a thing in all the general schools of Kerala and it was extended to the single-teacher school in the tribal hamlets.

To reach his school, Sukumaran has to walk 7 km from the place where he lives. There are no roads in some stretches of his route, and the forest was dense and inhabited by wild animals, including elephants, tigers, and wild boar and pythons.

“One day as I was walking towards the school, I spotted a wild tusker on the side road and I had to cross him, I could spot him hardly 20 meters from me and there was no question of turning back and running and I continued to walk beside him with heart-pounding and by God’s will, I luckily crossed him and even now a chill goes down my spine when I think of that incident. Another day a calf and a mother elephant were on the side road but they were inside the forest and had not forayed onto the road. Wild elephants with their calves around are generally violent but luckily for me I somehow managed,” shares the brave and diligent teacher.

Today Chekkady School has a concrete building with facilities including television sets for the children. The teacher even gave the date of birth of these children asking their parents an approximate period of the birth of their child and calculating the age and finally giving a date of birth. This date of birth is now in the official records of these children. Even the adults of this hamlet received their ration cards.

“The children sometimes call me and remind me that it was their birthday and a smile suddenly comes to my lips as it was I who had given them a date but really it is cherishing to be part of something and giving an address to somebody. I find a twinkle in the eyes of the children as well as the elders.”

There are many teachers like Sukumar who teach in single schools across the state in tribal settlement colonies in deep forests. But they are still temporary staff. They have already given several representations to make them permanent staff under the Kerala government.

“I have my mother, wife, and three children to look after and I am now getting 18,500 rupees and that too once in three or four months. Since March 2021, I have not received my salary and this is how people like me live. If only the state government could make us permanent under the education department, we could get some pension after our tenure. Hoping that this LDF government would open their eyes and bring solace to people like me,” he urged and concluded.