She pedalled 2 km from her village Guharki to the nearest bus stop and then took a bus for the next 13 km to reach Hillary Clinton Nursing School in western Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur Maniharan. She continued this up and down 30-km gruelling routine for three years as she was keen on a medical career.

Rakshika’s effort and focus, however, were not in vain. She got a campus placement even before her results were out, and around two months ago joined JP Hospital in Noida. “I did not have to struggle to look for a job, that is the best I can say about this nursing school,” says Rakshika. She is not the only one. Many others who pass out from here have got jobs in government and private hospitals of repute. With a credible track record, the nursing school, though located in a remote village of UP, has been attracting students from villages near and far.

The nursing school, set up in 2012 by the Vinod Gupta Charitable Foundation, offers courses in general nursing and midwifery (GNM), auxiliary nursing, baby nursing and child care.

Nishu Sharma, one of the students here, says she chose the institution because it has modern technology and teaching aids, good laboratories and trained faculty. “I faced resistance initially from my family as I had to take up a room on rent, along with my cousin, to study here. Luckily, my father supported me.” Sharma belongs to Taber village more than 40 km away from the school.

In addition to professional training, students are taught English and exposed to a working knowledge of computers to equip them to work in reputed hospitals and institutions. Bicycles and free lunch twice a week are the other attractions for students who commute daily from their villages 10 to 20 km away. But the main reason for opting for this institute is the chance you get for better placement, says Surya Kant Chauhan, son of a school teacher in Saharanpur. He is the only boy in the final-year batch of GNM. He says the fee too is less than at other institutes and government scholarships are available according to entitlement norms, as the school is affiliated to the State medical faculty and recognised by the Indian Nursing Council.

“I know I will get a job after finishing my course, and that is important for me. I don’t mind taking up what is considered a woman-oriented career, especially when young men are struggling to find a job even after doing BA and MA.” His sister, aunt and two brothers have also chosen the nursing profession.

Kajal, from Malkhpur village, joined the school because she felt the need to get a job. “Working in the fields is no longer enough to live a good life.” A first-year student, she is keen to improve the living standards of not just her own family but the rest of the village as well.

“There is a lot to be done with regard to healthcare and education and if some students from the village achieve something, it can be an incentive for others,” she says.

In fact, the nursing college tries to build a perspective towards healthcare for its students. In addition to working in hospitals, for practical experience the students are sent on a ‘community posting’ for a fortnight in villages to spread awareness about issues related to health. “We use plays to attract villagers and then talk about hygiene, disease prevention and general health awareness,” says Sharma.

Samita Murlidhar, vice-principal at the school, says that she finds the environment here and the work so invigorating that she has refused work opportunities elsewhere. She, along with some other members of the faculty, was sent for training to the Nebraska Methodist College in the US to learn advanced teaching technology and how to handle students from different backgrounds. They also did some online courses on medical surgical nursing, infant health and diabetes.

“Whatever we demand in terms of reference books or teaching tools, the management is open to our suggestions. It also gives me great satisfaction to see rural girls who were shy and hardly communicated when they joined here, leaving with confidence and a good job,” says Murlidhar. She points out that the Hillary Clinton school has advanced tools, including simulation techniques that make learning a unique experience.

Vinod Gupta, who set up the charitable foundation, is an Indian American who decided to give back to the villages and the society he was born and brought up in. Empowering villagers, specially girls, to become economically independent is a cause very close to his heart.

His foundation also runs the Ramrati Institute of Technology (named after his mother), a CBSE-affiliated Bill Clinton school and other activities in this rural hub called the Ramrati Education Complex.

The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi

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