61-Year Old Runs Free School For 100 Underprivileged Children

Kanchan Sharma, a retired teacher from Jammu, has been on a mission to empower poor children by providing them with free education through her open school.

Super teacher Kanchan Sharma’s motto is that education is the only way to empower poor slum children. She says, “If we give clothes to these children, they will get torn and if we give them food, they will feel hungry again. Education is the only medium with which these children can buy their clothes and lead a respectable life in society too.”

Known by the nickname ‘Super Teacher’, 61-year-old Kanchan Sharma is a retired lecturer in Jammu who empowers children of slum dwellers in the Maratha Basti with free education. She has been educating underprivileged children since 2009 by conducting a two-hour class every week in her makeshift open school called ‘Sangarh Vidya Kendra’.

She used her own money to set up the school and convinced the children’s parents to enroll their kids. Kanchan still spends from her pocket to fund the salary of teachers and for expenses like stationery and uniforms.

Credits: The Better India