Riyaz Rabbani did what others in his small quaint village, Waripora Payeen, on Kreeri-Tilgam road in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, could have never imagined.

As poverty and illiteracy has shaped the thinking template of the people in his village, he studied and became the first to graduate in the entire village. This is not all. Few years later, he also qualified the teacher exam to become the first government employee of his area.

Rabbani didn’t stop here but took in his hands the baton to transform the topography of his village which consists of 55 households.

“I have made it in my mind that I would try to give

my best to change the literal landscape of this village,” says Rabbani.

With this idea, he joined the lone school in his village to change the fortunes of its inhabitants.
Along with his colleagues, he put in so much hard work that while the valley’s government schools keep on making headlines for all the bad reasons, his school, the Government Middle School at Waripora Payeen in Nihalpora zone set an example and became an inspiration for others.

“Our students have been doing really good in different fields for a long time now,” says Rabbani, revealing that all the students have been qualifying the 8th class exam with flying colours since half-a-decade, setting a kind of record in the zone.

“Now, we have many graduates in our area. The village is going at par with other areas of the state in terms of education”,

he adds.

Not only is this school symbolised by an impressive academic record today, but adequate and well- maintained infrastructure takes it ahead of many private schools in the state. The strict maintenance of discipline, a proper uniform, tie, a school identity card hanging around the neck of each student and the commendable academic record are the distinguished features of the school making it stand out from the crowd.

“We have been trying to provide them the best education and other facilities as well. The way education is spreading in the area is a reflection of our efforts’’, says Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, the headmaster of the school.

Housed in three one-storey buildings, the school has more than 52 students enrolled in different classes. Calling Rabbani’s posting in his own village a shot in the arm for villagers, headmaster of the school Ghulam Mohammad Bhat says,

“Since he is a local teacher and the first graduate from his village, he has roped in the local populace to keep tabs on the education of their wards resulting in better results in the classrooms”.

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