Surat teacher's decade-long campaign helps drop-out girls resume studies
Surat — A well-known primary school teacher associated with the Surat Municipal Corporation has been running a free education campaign for girls who had to leave school for financial reasons, helping more than 3,000 girls and women across Gujarat to continue their learning. This year, 321 of his students and "sisters" tied rakhi to him together on Rakshabandhan, organisers said.
The teacher, Naresh Mehta, began the initiative in 2015 by visiting the homes of girls who were compelled to take up work such as sari-cutting, lace-making and thread work, and who therefore could not attend regular classes. He supplied books and educational materials at no cost and gave lessons in the neighbourhoods where these girls lived.
- Duration of work: Mehta has run the programme for around 12 years, expanding from local home visits to online classes.
- Scale: The project now covers more than 3,000 beneficiaries across Gujarat.
- Rakshabandhan event: 321 women and girls came together to tie rakhi to Mehta, with some attending with their children or mothers.
Mehta's background is rooted in the Saurashtra region: he is a resident of Barbatana village, Rajula, Amreli, and completed early schooling in his native village and Vavera. He took high school education in Mahuva and earned his PTC in Songadh, Bhavnagar. He joined the Surat Municipal Corporation in 2002 and worked as a primary school teacher for 15 years at School No. 271 in Haridham Society, according to the report.
COVID-19 was a turning point for the campaign. When schooling moved online in 2020, Mehta adapted his teaching model and expanded his reach beyond Surat into villages and towns across Gujarat, setting up a helpline and remote classes to continue instruction for learners who had previously been out of the formal system.
"Genuine service requires not just money but also a compassionate heart," the report summarised, citing the atmosphere around Mehta's work as expressed by participants at the Rakshabandhan gathering.
Local educationists and activists often highlight that government schools offer free education but constraints such as household work and economic pressure can force girl children to drop out. Mehta's approach — visiting homes, providing materials and switching to online teaching when necessary — addressed barriers of time, cost and access for many families, the coverage said.
Implications for Surat's social and education landscape
The initiative illustrates how individual-led supplementary teaching can plug gaps left by other interventions. For Surat, a city with a sizeable migrant and working-class population engaged in textile and allied industries, flexible learning options are particularly relevant. Girls who leave school to contribute to household income often require catch-up tuition and flexible schedules; Mehta's programme appears to have offered both.
Organisers of the Rakshabandhan event described long queues of students coming to pay respect and gratitude to their teacher, some accompanied by multiple generations of their families. The gesture signals sustained personal bonds between teacher and learners and highlights community recognition of his work.
The campaign has not been without operational challenges. Scaling from in-person home teaching to online classes during the pandemic would have required coordination, basic digital infrastructure and outreach to remote areas. The report noted a helpline number was set up to support students, though details on funding or institutional ties were not provided.
Mehta's work adds to discussions in Surat on how to retain girls in education and provide remedial support for those who have already left the system. Local civic bodies, NGOs and education departments may consider documenting such grassroots models to understand cost, effectiveness and replicability for wider interventions in the district and across Gujarat.
As the city and state continue to focus on improving school completion rates and female literacy, practices that combine home-based remedial teaching, material support and online instruction could inform policy and community-level programmes, particularly in textile and industrial neighbourhoods where girls face strong pressures to enter the workforce early.
