One woman’s journey to educate underprivileged students in Gurugram

What began as a class of just two children soon began to grow. Word got spread in nearby slums, and more children began coming, she said. Chibbar became a mentor to these young, eager minds, nurturing their curiosity with unwavering dedication.

Every evening, around 5pm, 69-year-old Geeta Chibbar’s house transforms into a classroom for children from nearby slum clusters. Surrounded by a circle of around four to five children, Chibbar says, “Education is not a luxury, but a necessity.”

Geeta Chibbar during one of her sessions in Gurugram on Thursday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

In 2018, Chibbar moved from Delhi to Gurugram Sector 45, after working 30yearsin the Oral History department at the Nehru Museum in Teen Murti Bhavan, New Delhi. After retiring, she said, she started learning classical singing, a dream of hers. However, it was not enough. She began asking herself one question repeatedly: What next?

According to Chibbar, she finally got an answer to her question, when her house help told her that her children studying in classes 5 and 6 at a government school were losing interest in going to school because they could not understand what was being taught in their class. Her house help eventually asked her to tutor her children.

Chibbar said, “That moment answered my dilemma. I knew what I wanted to do. I decided to teach underprivileged children for free and equip them with the knowledge that they need for a secure future.”

What began as a class of just two children soon began to grow. Word got spread in nearby slums, and more children began coming, she said. Chibbar became a mentor to these young, eager minds, nurturing their curiosity with unwavering dedication.

Over time, Chibbar came to a realisation that these children were not lacking interest or intelligence, they had a genuine desire to learn but they just lacked proper guidance. Most of the students lack the understanding of basic concepts, she said.

She recalled two sisters in particular. One had dropped out of school and was later married, her education was cut short. Yet Chibbar never gave up on her, she said. She persuaded the young woman to continue her studies through an open school, despite the girl’s hesitation and self-doubt. “She scored 75% in her board examinations. I felt so proud of her,” said Chibbar.

During a visit to the school this month, she noticed the absence of teachers for Business Studies, English, Hindi, and Economics which are important subjects for their board examinations, now just two months away.

Today, Chibbar is mentoring at least seven Class 12 students, guiding them through subjects that their nearby government school cannot provide.

Chibbar said that people of her age should try to give back to society in whatever way they can. “There are children who are incredibly talented and hardworking,” she says. “All they need is a good mentor to guide them.”

(Geeta Chibbar is a retired government professional and a resident of Gurugram)