Every morning, while most teachers reach their schools by vehicles or public transport, 55-year-old Jivan Mithari takes a different path. He walks nearly 5 kilometres through a dense forest in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district to reach his school. The journey is filled with challenges, including heavy rainfall, wild animals and the absence of a proper road. But Mithari continues the trek every day to teach just one student.
For the past 13 years, Mithari has been working at the Zilla Parishad school in Kawaltek Dhangarwada, a remote hamlet in Gaganbawada taluka near the Kolhapur-Sindhudurg border. The village has no electricity and vehicles cannot reach the school. Since the school is located about 2.5 kilometres from the nearest road, Mithari walks the same distance to and from the school every day.
"I reached here on July 26, 2013, and I have continued working here since then," Mithari said.
His decision to take up the posting was not an easy one. Before joining the remote school, Mithari had served as the chairman of the Kolhapur District Primary Teachers' Cooperative Bank. Some of his colleagues had remarked that people in influential positions usually managed to get comfortable postings, while others were left to serve in difficult locations. Mithari accepted the challenge and chose the remote school himself.
The school once had a good number of students, but over the years, many families moved to Kolhapur city in search of better livelihood opportunities. As the population declined, the number of children also reduced. Today, only one student, Class 3 student Swara Bodake, is officially enrolled in the school. Her younger sister also attends classes as the village does not have an anganwadi centre.
For Mithari, the number of students does not matter. "Even if there is only one child, I have to continue my work," he said.
His daily journey through the forest is risky. The area is home to animals like gaurs and leopards. Mithari has encountered gaurs on his way and villagers have taught him how to react in such situations. A leopard was also spotted near the village after attacking livestock.
Though he admits that he feels scared sometimes, Mithari says the journey has now become part of his daily routine. For him, teaching is not just a profession but a responsibility to ensure that children living in remote areas continue to receive education.
