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Babar Ali
At 16 years old, Babar Ali must be the youngest headmaster in the world. He's a teenager who is in charge of teaching hundreds of students in his family's backyard, where he runs classes for poor children from his village. Babar Ali's day starts early. He wakes up early, tidies the house, then jumps on an auto-rickshaw to the Raj Govinda school. The school is the best in this part of West Bengal. There are hundreds of students, boys and girls. The classrooms are neat. There are desks, chairs, a blackboard, and the teachers are all dedicated and well-qualified.
Babar Ali is the first member of his family ever to get a proper education. "It's not easy for me to come to school because I live so far away," he says, "but the teachers are good and I love learning. And my parents believe I must get the best education I can get."
Raj Govinda school is government-run so it is free, all Babar Ali has to pay for is his uniform and his books. But still that means his family has to find around 1,800 rupees a year (£25) to send him to school. In this part of West Bengal that is a lot of money. Many poor families can't send their children to school, even when it's free.
Chumki Hajra has never been to school. She is 14 years old and lives in a tiny hut with her grandmother. Their home is simple. Inside there is just room for a bed and a few possessions. Every morning, instead of going to school, she cleans the homes of neighbours. "My father is handicapped and can't work," Chumki tells me. "We need the money. If I don't work, we can't survive as a family. So I have no choice but to do this job." But Chumki is now getting an education, thanks to Babar Ali.
At four o'clock every afternoon after Babar Ali gets back to his family home and a bell summons children to his house. They ran into the yard behind his house, where Babar Ali now acts as headmaster of his own school. Standing on a podium, he tells them about discipline, then the study begins. Babar Ali gives lessons the way he has heard them from his teachers.
He was just nine when he began teaching a few friends as a game. Now his afternoon school has 800 students, all from poor families and there are 10 teachers at the school, all, like him, students at school or college, who give their time voluntarily. Babar Ali does not charge for anything, even books and food are given for free, funded by donations. The school has been recognized by the local authorities.