21-year-old who sold flowers at signal secures a white-collar job

Mohan Kale is studying in his final year of Diploma in Electrical Engineering course from a private institute and was selected for the job through a campus placement

Four years after the Signal School was set up to educate those from an underprivileged background, 21-year-old Mohan Kale, a student who sold flowers, has now bagged a job as an electrical engineer in a well-known consumer goods firm.

Kale is studying in his final year of Diploma in Electrical Engineering course from a private institute and was selected for the job through a campus placement.

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) along with NGO Samarth Bharat Vyaspeth initiated Signal School in 2016, for children who take to begging or hawking at the signal. Kale is the first student from the school to pass out and secure a job.

“Education has helped me move ahead in life. Now I have a job in hand, and won’t have sell flowers on the streets,” said Kale.

The school not only focusses on imparting education but also trains them in other areas, such as health, hygiene and good behaviour.

“I have seen my family starve after my father lost one leg in an accident many years ago. My family was into agriculture. We had three-acre land in Osmanabad, however, the drought for three consecutive years impacted us a lot. We were under debts, after which we moved to Thane in search of livelihood. It was difficult for us to survive in this big city, so we resorted to selling flowers. I had studied till Class 7 in the village, but left school mid-way as we did not have enough money,” said Kale.

His family includes his parents and two elder brothers, all of them sell flowers or eatables at various signals in the city.

When the Signal School was launched, Kale was 18 years old, but he resumed his studies from class 8 onwards. “In the very first-year, he secured above 80%. He was very dedicated towards studies and managed to score 77% marks in SSC exams. He used to diligently study for ten hours a day. He put in equal efforts in his engineering exams as well,” said Aarti Parab, a teacher, Signal School.

Despite joining a new institute, Kale continues to be mentored by his teachers at the Signal School.

“This is a huge achievement for us. Our job was to impart education, however, their hard work and determination led them to such heights. This will be a great motivation for other students as well,” said, Bhatu Sawant, chief executive officer, Samarth Bharat Vyaspeeth.