Vice Chancellor of CCS University praised the initiative taken by the team ‘Gram Pathshala’. She said that efforts will be made to set up libraries for those children and job aspirants who do not afford to purchase study materials.
Meerut: In a major step towards opening of libraries for needy students in western parts of Uttar Pradesh, team ‘Gram Pathshala’ has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chaudhary Charan Singh (CCS) University, Meerut. Vice-Chancellor of the university Sangeeta Shukla and office bearers of the Gram Pathshala exchanged the MoU documents at the university.
On the occasion, the Vice Chancellor of CCS University praised the initiative taken by team ‘Gram Pathshala’. She said that efforts will be made to set up libraries for those children and job aspirants who do not afford to purchase study materials. She said that the Gram Pathshala is doing a great job by opening study libraries.
The Gram Pathshala members, on the occasion, said that they have been making all out efforts to start learning centres in the form of libraries so students and job seekers could get books in their close proximity. Books and other study items are available here free of cost. The move of setting up centres in various states is gaining momentum and till date more than 350 such facilities have been started by the team.
Also Read: ‘Har Gaon Ek Library’: A campaign launched by Loni youths
The members said that inking MoU with the CCS University and support extended by its Vice Chancellor will prove a milestone in this direction and the team Gram Pathshala will be able to bring more such set up in remote areas where job aspirants hardly get facility of free books.
“We are giving our best effort to bring change in the society by setting up libraries. We have opened hundreds of libraries in rural areas with the support of individuals, self-help groups and social organisations. By inking a deal with such a renowned university, we will further strengthen our goal in coming days,” said Ajaypal Nagar, an active member of the team.
Free and easy access to books and other study materials was not an easy task for thousands of youths living in cities located on the Delhi border till a group of youths came forward to open libraries. Relentless and painstaking efforts of opening libraries under the initiative “Har Gaon Ek Library” in neglected belts by creating a self-help group “Team Gram Pathshala” has turned into a revolution these days as nearly 350 libraries have been started in Delhi and its neighbouring states. With the gaining momentum, not only youths but a section of educationalists and even bureaucrats have been contributing for this noble cause.
Talking about the initiative, team members informed that it all started from Ganauli, a small village in Ghaziabad’s Loni Block when Devendra Bainsala, a Delhi Police personnel and Lalbhar, a Deputy SP rank official posted in the Human Rights Commission, came up with a unique idea to opening a library in their village during the prolonged lockdowns to help the children of their locality to ensure free access of books. After successfully opening the library, both of them decided to take this mission further and started approaching like-minded people of neighbouring villages.
Speaking to The Theorist, Lalbahar said that the change seen in the village due to the construction of the library is unimaginable. “The children of the village are studying day and night sitting in the library. The entire library is full of children and the children themselves clean and take care of the library,” he said.
After success at their village, the initiative was taken elsewhere with the help of Team Gram Patshala and the first meeting for the initiative was organised by a government teacher of Uttar Pradesh, Ajaypal Nagar, in Bambawad village of Gautam Buddh Nagar’s Dadri. After that, the team has been visiting from village to village to make people aware of the importance of libraries at village level. With these efforts, dozens of libraries have been opened in Gautam Buddh Nagar district alone.
