Babar Ali- Youngest Headmaster in the World
- Shivam Singhal
- May 20, 2018
- 5 min read
"Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced".
– Swami Vivekananda
Babar Ali, a normal 25 year old guy from Murshidabad in West Bengal, born to a lower middle class family, having a basic childhood education and is the Youngest Headmaster in the World. He at the age of nine, developed a school in one of the oldest districts in the country, far from the modern amenities for the children he saw coming home from work instead of school. Babar didn’t realize at that time that his concern for these children would change not only the lives of these children but also of the hundreds of children in the country who didn’t have a chance at education. He holds unique post in his school while his peers are still studying or looking for jobs.
He has taught more than 3000 children in the last 16 years. His motto is to fight poverty through education, but this hasn't been without problems including allegations of proselytism.
Life Story Of Babar Ali
Babar Ali was born on the 18th of March 1993 to Mohammad Nasirudin and Banaura Bibi. He started teaching in his village at the age of 9. His father Mohammad Nasiruddin, a small businessman of crops, fertilizers and agricultural products wants Ali to become IAS or IPS officer and serve the society, but for Ali this is his second passion. He is a student himself, enrolled at the government run Cossimbazar Raj Govinda Sundari High School in Beldanga, West Bengal. It all started when his father admitted him to a proper school which was 10km away and he has to do up and down daily. On his way back home he used to see children doing odd jobs like cattle grazing or playing. That’s when the idea of teaching them what he learns in school came to his mind. He gathered his first 8 students in his backyard under a guava tree, the children sat on the dusty ground and with wide eyes listened to Babar. Slowly the number of children increased in his school. For his students he used to steal books and half written notebooks from Raddiwala’s shop. Meanwhile, the news of Babar teaching children spread in the village and his father was worried about Babar’s studies, that he was neglecting it. He used to collect rice from the children parents and sell them in the market and bring books for them. He also took the help of the village's Pradhan to buy books for his students and also got sweets for the children with the money given by his father.
His Works
On 19 October 2002, when he was reading in class 5 he started his classes with 8 children which included his sister Amina Khatun too. It was held in the front yard of their one-room house, under a guava tree. He used terracotta tiles for a blackboard and read out from newspapers. Later on due to the contribution of his father and Sanath Kar, principal of a nearby school, Babar was able to get books for his school, which he dearly called as Aanda Shiksha Niketan.
He used to go from house to house pleading the elders to leave their children to his school and instead of harsh criticism and facing blames like trying to convert their children to different religion, he kept on trying. Slowly as the media started to know and popularize Ali’s school, the villagers started to change their minds. Over the next 13 years the number of students swelled to 800. In 2012 Ananda Shiksha Niketan was recognized by West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and started offering standard Bengali-medium education from class 1 to 8. Now at the age of 23, Babar Ali has served 14 years as a school headmaster. He has shifted his school to three kilometres away from the previous school to Shankarpana. It’s a village with only Babar’s school the sole means of education.
Babar proudly claims that 60 percent of his students are girls and the rest 40 are boys. Students from his school have started going to college and some have even volunteered at the school itself. His school staffs 10 teachers including his sister. The donations that Babar receives are good but not enough. Even then he is fighting against illiteracy and poverty.
Achievements
In 2009, Babar Ali shot to fame by winning the ‘Real Heroes’ award from CNN, IBN and also the ‘Indian of the Year’ award by NDTV.
He also received the ‘Literacy Hero Award’ by Rotary India Literacy Mission.
Babar recently featured in ‘Forbes Asia’ in their ‘30 under 30’ list as a ‘Social Entrepreneur’.
Babar received Education Leadership award by BBC Knowledge.
His story became a part of the syllabus for the CBSE 10th Standard English textbook, PUC English textbook for Govt. of Karnataka, and also in a curriculum in Europe.
Babar having attended numerous talk shows like INK and TED talks has been an inspiration to all. He once said in INK talks “Nothing can stop you if you have determination, conviction and will”.
He featured in Aamir Khan’s TV show Satyamev Jayate in July 2012.
Hailed as the youngest headmaster in the world he said “Love has driven me to achieve my dream, it is in the core of my heart”.
Conclusion
From starting a school in his backyard at the age of nine to building a World Wide recognized institute, Babar Ali has gone on to change his village and the face of schooling for hundreds of children. And he did all this when he was just nine years old. When asked what motivated him, he simply said that he noticed children without aim, so he made up his mind to do something positive for those children. He said “I would see girls and boys of my age coming from work instead of going to school. Most of the boys worked as mechanics and girls used to cook and clean. I would make them sit in the backyard of our home and teach them. I was the headmaster.”
First he saw it as a game but then it became his passion. This passion was not without any difficulties though. But he never gave up. When he founded this school, parents were very skeptical about educating their children. They were themselves not educated so they did not realize the value of education. Now running a school recognized by the government of West Bengal. He aims to extend his school to a college. Lastly giving his words of wisdom the youngest headmaster of the world says “Go on bravely. Don’t expect success. Now I am convinced nothing can stand against conviction. You just need courage and honesty”.
Written By
Aakash Manthena
Ankita Panda
Pavan Ande
Tanya Sharma
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