Will assist in education of leprosy patients’ wards: Ludhiana DC

Lack of finances has become a barrier for the children of leprosy patients, living in Kusht Ashram (Leprosy Colony), to make their dreams of pursuing higher education a reality.
Many of the students living in the colony opted to forego their higher education due to lack of financial resources and are working as daily wagers. The ones in Class 11 and 12 are uncertain about their further studies due to their financial constraints.
Ramesh Singh and Rajesh Kumar (names changed) are delivery associates with an e-commerce site. They were forced to give up their dreams of achieving heights and take up this job in order to support their families. Ramesh said, “My parents and grandparents could not work due to this bacterial infection, still somehow we managed to pay my school fees through donations but the lack of financial aid left me with no other option, but to grab whatever work that came my way.”
Ravinder Chaurasia, superintendent of the ashram, said the education of the students from the primary classes is taken care of by Bal Bhawan but no financial assistance is provided by the government for further continuation of their studies.
Kalpana and Rashmi (names changed), students of Class 11, are uncertain about their future despite being high-achieving.
Kalpana is a science student at a girls senior secondary school and aspires to become an engineer. “I am totally dependent on the university scholarship for my higher studies and will try my best to not let this inherited poverty come in the way of my dream,” she said.
Stressing on the need for a school dedicated for the children of leprosy patients, Chaurasia remarked, “Providing financial support for the education of our kids should be on the priority list of the government to break the poverty cycle. Our children too have all the right to dream and raise their living standards.”
Manoj Kumar, district education officer (Elementary) said, “If the parents of these kids are unable to pay even a nominal fee of the government schools, they can always apply in writing to exempt the fees and the students would not face any issue in their schooling.”
Assuring the resolution for their higher education, DC Sakshi Sawhney said, “We would definitely assist them. The administration will make every effort to ensure that the children are able to make a better life for themselves. The district bureau of employment and enterprises (DBEE) would be the nodal agency for this task and coordinate with all other departments to provide a social security net as per eligibility.”
(Names changed to protect the identity of the students)