Dubai, Dec 29 (ANI): A Dubai girl, who would have easily got a coveted job anywhere in the world, has chosen to teach underprivileged kids in the slums of Mumbai.
Madhumita Subramanian first came to Dubai as a 10-year-old and studied in Dubai Modern High School, from where she passed out in 2004.
Daughter of the CEO of a well-known private company, she did her Economics Honours from Warwick University in the UK, followed by a Masters in Energy Finance from the Imperial College of London. When she graduated, she had the best job offers in hand. Yet, she headed to the slums of Mumbai, Gulf News reported.
Selected by Teach for India (TFI), an Indian NGO, the 24-year-old was among the first batch of 87 outstanding college graduates to work full-time in under-resourced primary schools with the main goal of achieving equity in education.
"I admit I initially felt I was trying to save the world. I got in as a strong idealist but have emerged as a strong realist," she told XPRESS.
After finishing off wit her two-year fellowship, Subramanian is presently a programme manager at TFI, mentoring younger students.
But she vividly recalled her first day in school when she was assigned to teach 44 Class 2 students in Govandi, one of Mumbai's most infamous slums.
The school charged a monthly fee of Rs 200 (Dh13) and the 1,000-plus children were from markedly low-income families.
"When I entered the classroom, I was shocked to find one boy trying to strangle another. His left hand was on the other boy's throat and he was pushing a bench against him with his right hand."
"When I started off, none of my students could speak in English. By the end of the first year, half of them spoke fluently, the other half were well on their way. Their comprehension in maths grew by 36 percentage points," she added. (ANI)
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