In many parts of India, education remains out of reach, especially where poverty, distance, and social barriers collide. For women in such regions, the odds are often doubled. Yet, it is often women who quietly shift the course of their communities, turning everyday resilience into lasting change.
In the remote stretches of Purulia district, nestled in the Ayodhya Hills, one such quiet revolution is underway. At its centre is Malati Murmu, a tribal homemaker who chose to transform her concern into action and her home into a space of learning.
When education feels out of reach
When Malati moved to Jiling Sereng village after her marriage around 2019, she was confronted with a stark reality. Children wandered. Teenagers spent their days working in forests or staying back at home; education was never more than a passing thought.
The local school, far from being a lifeline, had become a lost cause, especially after the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. Online classes meant little in homes without electricity, let alone smartphones. Whatever fragile connection children had with learning was completely severed.
For Malati, who had completed her higher secondary education, this was unacceptable. She understood the cost of illiteracy, not just for individuals but for entire generations. And so, quietly but firmly, she began her mission by making a classroom inside her own home.
A classroom begins at home
Malati started with just a handful of children, hesitant, irregular, and unsure. There were no resources to rely on, only her determination. But her decision was not met with immediate support.
Scepticism, resistance, and even ridicule followed.
Parents questioned the value of education. ‘What will happen with education?’ they asked. Even her own family discouraged her from pursuing what seemed like an uncertain path. But Malati remained undeterred.
With her baby by her side, she went door to door, bringing children back to learning. Photograph: (India Today)
She went door to door, speaking to families, urging them to give their children a chance. With her baby in one arm and chalk in the other, she began teaching, patiently and persistently.
Her approach was simple yet deeply rooted in empathy. She taught in ways the children could understand, drawing from their language, their surroundings, and their lived experiences. Slowly, something began to shift.
Children started returning, some of them school dropouts who had lost touch with studies during the lockdown. Curiosity replaced hesitation. Trust replaced doubt.
Building a school with belief
As more children joined, Malati’s small effort grew into a collective movement. With the support of villagers, her home-based classroom eventually expanded into a modest two-room mud structure with a tin roof.
Today, more than 45 children from Classes 1-5 attend her school regularly. Many are first-generation learners, stepping into education for the very first time.
Malati teaches in Santali, Bengali, and English, ensuring that learning is both accessible and aspirational. Her classroom goes beyond textbooks. She uses stories to spark imagination, introduces basic science to challenge superstition, and blends traditional knowledge with modern learning.
There are no elaborate tools or formal systems, but there is intention, consistency, and care.
In this small classroom, learning goes beyond books, helping first-generation learners find their footing. Photograph: (India Today)
Her husband, Banka Murmu, now supports the initiative, making it a shared effort rooted in the community. Despite having no formal funding, the school continues to function, sustained by belief more than anything else.
A change that speaks volumes
What makes Malati Murmu’s journey remarkable is not scale, but spirit. In a place where systems have struggled to reach, she has created access with what she had.
She is not just teaching children how to read and write but also she is helping them imagine a different future.
In Jiling Sereng, education is no longer an abstract idea. It is present, alive, and growing in a small mud school built on determination.
