From being forced to work as a daily wage construction worker because she couldn’t pay her exam fees, Kura Shekar is now a nationally awarded teacher who inspires many students
Post Date – 11:00 PM, Saturday – 12/3/22
File photo (Kurra Shekhar)
Neil Marr: Kurra Shekhar went from being forced to work as a construction worker for a daily wage because she could not pay her exam fees, to becoming a nationally awarded teacher and inspiring many financially disadvantaged students to obtain government scholarships and continue their education without any interruptions.
Shekhar, who is currently working at a public school in Velmal-Bopparam, Soan mandal, has not forgotten his roots.
“I was forced to become a daily wage worker when I was unable to pay the Rs 150 exam fee when I was doing my intermediate course. I worked as a laborer in the construction industry and then moved to Mumbai. So I explored what I could bring to financially disadvantaged students. A chance to breathe.
Shortly after I got a job, I found out that the National Economic Status cum Merit Scholarship Scheme can help students from poor backgrounds and started preparing my students for scholarships,” Shekhar told Telangana Today.
Shekhar, the son of illiterate farmer Buchchanna and housewife Lingavva, started out at Zilla Parishad Secondary School at the Koutala mandal headquarters in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district. Under his guidance, from 2011 to 2012, 12 students from the school were selected for the scholarship for the first time. Students get Rs 12,000 per annum.
He was then transferred to a public school in Kishtapur village, Jannaram mandal, Mancherial district. Encouraged by the extraordinary success of his first attempt, he trained more students from rural areas. He goes the extra mile by taking more time out of vacation and work hours to train his students.
From 2013 to 2022, the school has won the district-wide scholarship seven times in a row, the first in history, and ranked first in the state twice. More than 200 students in the school have received scholarships. The school has become a model for other institutions in the region.
The 40-year-old, from the remote Lingapur village of Kaddampeddur mandal in Nirmal district, said he was delighted to have played a vital role in the lives of many students, receiving scholarships which in turn proved to be a great help to their families .
To his credit, Shekhar received the best teacher award at national and district level considering his contribution to the field of education in 2019. In 2018 he received the Best Teacher Award at the district level. He has been awarded the Vidya Seva Ratna Award 2021 by the Hyderabad-based NGO Gandhi Global Family. ZPSS Kishtapur also received the Harita Mitra Award for planting greenery in 2018 under Shekhar’s direction.
