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Students look to athai for better futures
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Sankareswari’s tuition centre provides free classes to children of Gomespalayam
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Sankareswari’s tuition centre provides free classes to children of Gomespalayam
It is not uncommon to see children from Gomespalayam, a slum in Madurai, sitting on a narrow lane, studying during the mornings and evenings. They sometimes study inside a community hall in the area, and at other times, inside the cramped house of their 38-year-old teacher, R. Sankareswari.
Ms. Sankareswari, fondly addressed as aunt
chithi,
periamma or
athai by the children, has been holding free tuition classes for them for nine years. Ms. Sankareswari, who has completed Class 12, says her aim is to ensure that every child in the area graduates and takes up works other than that of their parents. “Everyone from our community works either as a conservancy worker with the Madurai Corporation or as a manual scavenger. I want to ensur