Manisha Khatun, 8, is the first student to reach the government primary school in her village Choti Bathna Mushari Toli in Mansahi block, Katihar district of north Bihar. Since she habitually comes early, she’s been assigned the duty of picking up the keys from the rasoiya (cook responsible for cooking the midday meal) who stays close by, to open the classrooms set up in the community centre. There is no boundary wall, and it is difficult to tell where the school ends and the village begins. A plaque declares that it was inaugurated in 2019 at a cost of ₹5,74,700.
By 8.45 a.m., about 15 minutes before classes begin, there are about 30 students to attend classes from 1 to 5. Officially, 184 children are enrolled in the school that offers education free of cost, 80% belonging to the Musahar community of the Scheduled Castes, who are often discriminated against because they traditionally eat rats. Children show up in tattered clothes, with chappals.
