She quits her media job to educate children

Arpna Chandail recalls her journey of quitting her job as a television producer and returning to her village, Shiva, in Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir – in her own words. 

I’d been working with a Hindi news channel as a producer when I was bitten by the bug to help children learn.

I began by teaching children in the Bhowapur slums near Ghaziabad in the outskirts of Delhi. 

Also, I wanted to help children who’d dropped out due to financial constraints to get readmitted in the same school. 

Then came COVID in 2020 and children were the worst hit. They couldn’t study, they couldn’t play.

I didn’t wish to be a mute witness to the havoc that was playing out. I decided to quit my job and return to my village in Doda district.

The Chenab River flows through Shiva, my village. The village is beautiful, but the reality – particularly children’s education – left much to be desired.

There was no facility to study except schools, and they were all closed because of the pandemic. 

So, I converted my ancestral home and opened a library. I called it the Chenab Hills Kitab Ghar. 

I sought the help of friends and I received books from every corner of the country.

The library was an instant hit. Children as well as adults started visiting. 

Some 15-20 children, mostly girls, came every day. Besides allowing them to read books, we taught the children the basics of computers and they conversed online with experts from various fields. 

An NGO named Daughter of Moon came forward to help soon afterwards. 

Children could now get information not only from books, but also from wall charts and paintings. We realised that every child is different and their favoured mode of learning too varies.

Once schools reopened after the lockdown, attendance in schools dropped. Children complained they were struggling to understand the lessons. 

I realised that the time had come for me for the next big step.

We soon got the approval to start a primary school and we converted Chenab Hills Kitab Ghar to Chenab Hills NLP School in August 2022. 

We worked on the skills of the children alongside their education. 

We gave special emphasis to equality. Everyone is equal in our school, whether students or teachers. All decisions are taken at the school assembly.

There is also a children’s body – where the children made the rules. The body oversees if all the rules are being followed properly. 

It helps the children realise that all issues must be raised, discussed and resolved together.

Our school is different, since the teacher and students work as a team. In our school the teacher is a facilitator and not a dictator. 

There’s no rote learning. Children read the lessons on their own and discuss with their classmates and the teacher. Then they write the answers according to their understanding.

We have five teachers and around 30 students now. 

We charge only Rs 500 a year as fee. 

I hope Chenab Hills NLP School helps the children of Shiva look forward to an education that’s not normally available elsewhere.