A Siliguri-based couple has taken up a unique initiative to inspire school dropouts of north Bengal, especially those dwelling in remote villages and tea estates, to return to education.

Anirban and Poulami Nandy, co-founders of NGO Live Life Happily, had earlier introduced a mobile library for students from weaker economic sections of society. They have now launched the “Quiz on Wheels,” a new initiative to help dropouts, particularly girls, to rediscover an interest in education.

“For years, many children from villages and tea estates around Siliguri have been unable to continue schooling, mostly due to socio-economic challenges, lack of parental encouragement, or simply because they didn’t find the education engaging enough,” said Anirban.

According to him, in some of the tea gardens and villages in Phansidewa and Naxalbari blocks of the Siliguri subdivision, the annual dropout rate is as high as 30 to 35 per cent.

This made him and his wife Poulami take up an innovative approach to get these students back to school.

Around six months back, they launched the mobile quiz in hamlets located in a tea estate of the sub-division.

“We prepare questions on scientific facts and geographical phenomena in a way that makes complex concepts easy and enjoyable. We ensure that the children feel encouraged and confident. The idea is to use the quiz as a tool that appeals to the children's natural curiosity and draws them back into the world of learning,” said Poulami.

Around 70 to 80 students gather in each such session and answer questions on subjects like science, geography and general knowledge.

“During the past six months, we have organised eight to nine such events in different villages. After the sessions, we have found that many students, who had stopped going to schools, went back,” she added.

Anirban said they also ask questions on daily lives and surroundings during the quiz which makes the children realise that science is all around them.

“Children who participate in the quiz receive small gifts like pens, notebooks or other educational items, which they cherish immensely. The sense of achievement they feel after winning something, even as simple as a pen, instills in them a newfound pride in their capabilities,” he said.

Next year, they plan to cover around 50 villages and conduct quiz sessions to encourage dropouts.

“We are also planning to host the quiz on a larger scale in Siliguri,” said Poulami.