Teacher uses award money to fund school development

Kolkata: In a rare gesture, Hyder Ali Biswas, a teacher of Dhubulia Deshbandhu High School, has donated Rs 1 lakh for the development of the institution. Biswas got the Siksha Ratna award worth Rs 25,000. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had handed over the award to the recipients of the award at a function, which was held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on September 5.

Biswas added another Rs 75,000 to the money, which he had received from the state government and handed over a total of Rs 1 lakh to the governing body of the school.

The gesture has created great enthusiasm among the teachers and students of the school. Hailing from a lower-middle class family at Nakashipara in Nadia, Biswas joined the school as an assistant teacher in 1987. For over the past three decades he has been teaching in the school.

"I have been teaching students for the past three generations. I lead a very simple life and my wants are limited. So I thought that I should donate little money for the development of the school. The students are like my children and they are the real treasure of my life," he said.

The students said Biswas is a popular teacher and is loved and respected by all in the district. Biswas said: "It is good if the teachers of other schools donate money for the development of the students."