BACK TO ROOTS

Back home, ready with computer notes
AAROHI KESHAV
Siwan, April 21: Not all return of natives is as futile as Clym Yeobright’s in Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native. While Yeobright’s dream of setting up a school in Egdon Heath, his native village, was shattered, Mohammad Mustaque, who stayed in Abu Dhabi for 15 years, has not been as unlucky.
He has brought computer education to the village, which was not even a dream for teenagers of Harihans village, located 8km from the district headquarters.
Mustaque has helped realise dreams of many students by setting up Gulf Computer Institute.
Asked what made him come back to his village, Mustaque said: “Since this is my native village where I grew up and completed schooling, I always wanted to do something for the people here. I always missed my village when I was abroad and wanted to return. I chose to educate people about computers because I feel today computer education is an absolute necessity.”
Mustaque’s return to his village was not easy. He was constantly demoralised by his own people. “When I decided to come back, everyone thought it was a suicidal step because I was doing well there.”
But with the kind of work he has been doing, villagers gave him a lot of respect and love. He said: “My aim is not to earn money but to provide the best possible education so that they have a good career.”
Mustaque did a diploma course in computer applications from Abu Dhabi and worked there for 15 years. “While I was in Abu Dhabi, there were many like me who had very little knowledge about computers and faced a lot of problems in getting good jobs. It was at that time that I decided to learn the subject and return to my village and teach my people so that they are not caught in the same position as me.”
He said his primary focus was to educate girls. The institute was started in October last year and it started with 40 students. The number has gone up to 55 now.
Fifteen-year-old Masiah Anjum only heard about computers from her friends in the Arab countries earlier. Today, she is no longer fascinated by hearing stories about computers — she is learning to sit at a machine and work on it.
“Earlier, I used to be really fascinated hearing stories of computers from my friends in Arab countries. Being a village girl, I was not allowed to go to Siwan to study,” Anjum said. Anjum is not alone. For many others, computer education in their villages has now turned a reality.
The institute offers two courses — diploma in computer applications and diploma in financial accounts.
Mustaque spent about Rs 10 lakh to set up Gulf Computer Institute, which has an ISO 90001-2008 certification