Villagers raise funds for wedding of guest teacher in Koppal district

Pic: Students attended the marriage of their beloved teacher Hanumantappa Kabber and Gangamma, in Bahadurbandi village, Koppal district, on SundayKoppal: Guest teachers are working at meagre remuneration without any job security in the state for years. Their demands were unfulfilled by the govt. However, Bahadurbandi villagers of Koppal district showed their solidarity with the community by sponsoring the marriage of Hanumantappa Kabber, a guest teacher at a govt model higher primary school in the village. Since Kabber was a student-friendly teacher and guided them even after their schooling, villagers decided to hold his wedding through crowdfunding. They also planned to raise awareness about voting, education, and women's empowerment among marriage attendees. The wedding event was scheduled to be held on Sunday.Beerappa Andagi, previous head master of the school, said that a discussion was held among schoolteachers, SDMC members, and the gram panchayat president 15 days ago to arrange Kabber's wedding ceremony in a unique manner. "Kabber is a teacher who is good with the staff, students, and villagers. He served the school for 5 years. Seeing his dedication towards students, teachers decided to make craft works with slogans on awareness on voting, education, girl child education, child marriage, blood donation, and other social issues. We even decided not to mention the bride and groom's names on the stage banner, but to present it as a special marriage. We also decided not to play movie songs during the wedding and reception, but to play awareness songs penned by teachers Hanumantappa Kuri and Mahiboob Killedar. Local teachers mobilised funds of Rs 8,000, while SDMC members bore stage expenses. Teachers Devappa Ontigar, Hanumantappa Kuri, Sharabasanagouda Patil, and Ramesh Buddanagoudar, working in other villages, extended their financial support. Kabber's family members bore the expenses of ceremonies held at his home," he explained.Gram panchayat president Yoganand Lebageri said that Kabber was born and brought up in the village itself but lost his parents a long time ago. "He lives with his brother. He is a very caring teacher for students. We sponsored sweets for the marriage, and many more pledged their support for the marriage. As of now, no proper account is available since other villagers and teachers are coming forward to bear other expenses of the wedding," he stated.Manjunath Kuri, a past SDMC President, said that since Kabber was putting sincere efforts into the educational growth of students, everyone worked for the success of his wedding. "Through this, we showed that there is high respect for good teachers in society. Moreover, we feel that it is a virtuous initiative," he shared.Kabber said he was getting remuneration of Rs 12,000 per month and was worried about meeting marriage expenses. "However, SDMC members, the GP president, teachers, and others reduced my financial burden by sponsoring lunch, the stage, and other expenses. I am thankful to everyone for this support, and I will repay this by teaching students with more enthusiasm," he added.