From Sir, With Love: Kerala's Saviour Teacher who Gifted 5 Cents of Land to His Students in Trouble

Thiruvananthapuram: When KC Ranjan, a high school teacher in Kerala’s Kannur district, found out that one of his students was frequently absent from class, he probed a little and found out that the troubles at her home kept her away from school.

The student did not have a house, the father had abandoned the family and her brother was differently abled. This is where the teacher, who is retiring on March 31, decided to help. Ranjan has offered 5 cents of land to the student and three others as well who he found were from an underprivileged background.

"A teacher's job is not limited to teaching only. He/she should be able to grasp the untold miseries of the students. Everyone in the class may look pleasant. However, a good teacher should be able to understand the sea of emotions of the students and grasp their untold miseries," says Rajan, who has been a teacher for 35 years now.

After coming to know about the personal problems of the student, Rajan along with his wife and sister, both teachers, identified other students who were in need of financial assistance.

He decided to not reveal the identity of the students. “Our help should not make them feel inferior. So I thought we should not disclose their identities,” he said.

Rajan, a leader of the Kerala Pradesh School Teachers’ Association (KPSTA), a pro-Congress association of teachers, selected the beneficiaries irrespective of caste and religion, one of the strong factors in the district. "Many asked me about the selection basis and the politics of the families. Religion and caste are not the criterion," says Rajan.

According to Ranjan, the initiative gained publicity after former chief minister Oommen Chandy agreed to distribute the title deeds to the families at a function on February 24. Kannur MP K Sudhakaran will hand over the first installment of financial assistance. "We plan to raise Rs one lakh to each family and Rs 2 lakhs will be provided by KPSTA," he says.

The five-cent plots were given from his share of his parental property near in Thalipparamb constituency. The property was registered in the name of mothers of the students on Thursday with a clause of not selling it off in the next 20 years. "It is to provide security to the students until they arrive at some position", Rajan said.