Students from Class 3 in Chitarpur, Jharkhand, brought oranges, lemons, bitter gourds, turmeric, and other food items from home. While the students will ultimately consume these foods for their nutritional worth, today they will be tasting them to determine if they are acidic, alkaline, or base.
Looking at the interested children in front of him, Mohammad Sajid Hussain, a scientist, educator, and a village local, recalls his own school days, when he was in a classroom with 110 pupils. Only a few of them were able to advance in their careers after completing their education. Others barely made ends meet working in low-skilled jobs.
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After earning a degree in metallurgical engineering and a PhD in metallurgical engineering from Germany, he returned to India in 2012 and accepted a position at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL).
“After gaining experience at various educational institutions, I realised that poor academic conditions and a lack of educational infrastructure were preventing children from realising their full potential. This has an impact on their academic and professional progress,” he tells True Scoop News.
According to Sajid, students from the upper crust of society had access to high-tech educational facilities and therefore achieved higher social status. “Economically deprived children were deprived of the same, hindering their progress and creating an educational gap. He says, "I wanted to change it."
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So, in 2015, Sajid left his work and relocated to Chitarpur.