83-Year-Old Retired Teacher Devotes His Retirement to Helping Poor Students

Recognising this hurdle, this 83-year-old retired teacher has assisted millions of students in bridging the gap over the past 21 years. Under his guidance, underprivileged students have been able to avail scholarships amounting to a total of Rs. 5 crores.

Once a teacher from the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka, K. Narayana Naik witnessed the financial struggles that many aspiring student faces, drawing parallels between his own life and theirs.

“My father wanted to discontinue my education after class 5 as he couldn’t afford it. But I never wanted to give up," he told TheBetterIndia. "So, I followed Gandhi ji’s ideology and did satyagraha or hunger strike at home for days. This made my father change his mind, and I was sent back to school again!”

Naik went on to earn a B.Ed. degree and two MA degrees in Kannada and Hindi, and began his career as a primary school teacher at the age of 20. As the years progressed, he worked as a high school teacher and school inspector before he eventually retired.

“There are several scholarships provided by the government and private entities, but there is a lack of awareness among students about these scholarships and how to avail them. So, my efforts have been focused on sourcing all the available scholarships, creating awareness about them among students and helping the most deserving students avail them,” he explained to TheBetterIndia.

He spends more than half of his monthly Rs. 40,000 pension on travelling and helping students, visiting 350 educational institutions every year. Naik meets the families of his students, assisting them with both online and offline applications and following up with government departments and non-profit organisations and foundations until the process is complete.

Naik's commitments towards making higher education accessible to the masses have been widely recognised across the country. The District Education Officer, G. Ramesh, has commented on his efforts, "His intervention has been pivotal in ensuring that financial hurdles do not cut short the academic dream of hundreds of students in rural Karnataka." His efforts have led him to become fondly known as the "Scholarship Master", a saving grace for low-income, rural students who wish to pursue higher education and subsequently, improve their quality of life.