It rains teachers in Talikatte village

Village of preceptors

The Government Higher Primary School at Talikatte, the village which boasts of having hundreds of teachers. Monday is Teachers Day. DH Photo

Every home in the village has a teacher or two or produced even more, which must be some kind of a record. Talikatte is home to as many as 600 teachers and counting. The figure does not take into account those who are studying to be teachers. Many more teachers have left the village, married off into other families, or living elsewhere.

The revolution began 15 years ago. The prime movers of the revolution were four teachers—Haralappa, Maliyappa, Siddappa and Kenchappa—who inspired students to chose TCH.

They convinced the families that Talikatte did not require doctors or engineers. It required teachers to get the village rid of illiteracy. Elders of the village were convinced. They pledged to ensure that every child in their village was a literate. Instead of coaxing their children to choose lucrative professions like medicine or engineering, the families opted for teaching as profession.

Results of the effort are sta­rtling. The inspiration that dr­o­ve an entire generation into choosing the noble profe­ssion has seen Talikatte boast of the highest number of tea­chers in the entire State. Tea­chers from Talikatte are serving in each and every district in the State, from Bidar to Mysore.

There are families where the man and wife are teachers. Talikatte families seem to prefer their sons-in-law and daughters-in-law to be teachers, too.   The achievement of Talikatte is more unique because most families belong to the Kuruba community, a backward caste. According to teacher H Kalleshappa, “Most of the parents got their children enrolled for teachers’ training course - TCH redesignated now as DEd (Diploma in Education). Those who could not get a seat in a government institution enrolled their wards in private colleges, even if they had to pay donation.

While some families pledged their land to pay for the children’s education, some sold their jewellery. The children paid off their families debt by studying with dedication and realising the aspirations of their parents.”

H Manjunath, DDPI, echoes his words. “Teachers are the pride and honour of Talikatte.”