Babar Ali: The World’s Youngest Headmaster
“We shall play school,” the third-grade boy gathered the village children at the backyard of his house. “I am the teacher. And you are all students,” he began.
What Babar Ali began as a game with eight children in 2002, he continues till today. But now he has more than a thousand students. “It began as a game. But we got very serious about it very soon,” says Babar, who was born on 18 March 1993. In his Beldanga village of Murshidabad district, West Bengal, there was no school then. Since many children, including his sister, were unable to go to school, he began to teach them after his school.
While Babar went to school in the mornings, he taught in his “school” from 3 pm to 7 pm in the evenings. After his matriculation, he attended Behrampore Krishnath College, 15 kms away. He obtained a degree in English (Honours) and an M.A. in English and History, while continuing to teach in his school.
His middle-class parents, Mohamad Nasiruddin and Banuara Bibi, encouraged his teaching of the village kids. His father, a jute trader, also offered him money to purchase books and other materials for the students.
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F. M. Britto serves the marginalized people in a remote Chhattisgarh village. He is the author of six books including 99 Changemakers and Keys To Success And Happiness published by Better Yourself Books.