Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Three months working at a call centre were enough to convince Aldred Gomes that he wanted to do other things with his life. Like finishing school, even if it meant supporting himself through it all, and shouldering responsibility that few teens have to bother with.

Aldred is now in Class XII, and is amongst the toppers at Frank Anthony Public School. He is studying arts, having had to give up his dreams of studying science and cracking the IITs. But it’s good enough for Aldred. There was a time when school itself had become out of reach.

Aldred’s parents separated when he was five years old. They have since remarried. He tried living with his father and stepmother but, according to the 20-year-old, “things didn’t work out”. When he was in Class XI, his father announced it wouldn’t be possible for him to pay for Aldred’s education anymore. “I needed lessons in science and I was told that after this year I’d be on my own,” he recalls. “I was doing badly in school. Even if I had stuck it out and managed to pass my ISCs, I wouldn’t be able to carry on through college without funds.”

So Aldred decided to quit school and join a call centre. But three months of working was enough to put him off the idea. “It wasn’t getting me anywhere and the money wasn’t making that much of a difference,” he recalls.

In April 2006, he approached his principal Ian Myers and confided in him. Myers offered him two choices: to switch to open school and continue working or to join FAPS with reduced fees. He chose to rejoin his old school in the humanities stream. “I figured it would be easier and that I wouldn’t need a tutor, ” he smiles. Modest words from one who has been coming third consistently since joining arts.

Aldred now lives with his grandmother and cousin in Taltala. He gives private lessons to three students to support himself. “I don’t have to pay for food and lodging. The rest I manage on my own,” he explains. The ‘rest’ includes school fees, books, uniform, daily expenditure on food, mobile bills and transport. He had saved up to pay his ISC fees of Rs 910.

“You have to have courage to face what life gives you,” says Aldred, who was awarded a Certificate of Honour in the Surrendra Paul Memorial Award for Courage category at the recent The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence. “Courage is destiny,” he quotes his school motto.

Aldred’s future is still far from secure. There is a shadow hanging over the question of college. “I’m not sure if I can afford to study in college. I might have to start working right after my ISC,” sighs the young man who dreams now of studying law or political science.

Malini Banerjee

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