Written by Tauseef Ahmad and Sajid Raina

Kifayatullah Malik knows what it feels like to be on the edge of losing something precious. As a child growing up in Lawaypora village in Bandipora, North Kashmir, he saw many of his friends drop out of school, forced to trade their dreams for domestic responsibilities and financial burdens. He could have been one of them — but he fought to stay in school, becoming the first in his family to do so. Now, at 25, he is making sure no child in his community has to give up on their education the way so many before them had to.

Through his relentless efforts, Malik has helped re-enrol more than 700 children who had dropped out of school due to financial hardships. But his work goes beyond just getting students back in classrooms — he is shifting mindsets, advocating for education as a right, not a privilege.

A personal struggle that sparked a movement

Malik’s journey began with his own struggles. Born and raised in Lawaypora, he was the first child in his family to attend school. From an early age, he saw many of his peers abandon their education due to financial struggles and domestic responsibilities. Determined to make a difference, he completed his master’s in social work from Amar Singh College, Srinagar. It was during his college years that he gathered a group of like-minded youth to address the dropout crisis in tribal areas.

“It began with collecting the used textbooks from my friend circle and then from our locality and others. Then we used to distribute them to needy students to ensure that no student would be left behind from getting basic education,” he recalls.”Most of the students throw the books away after getting promoted to the next class or reading them, but........

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