Ruble Nagi: The teacher who earned $1 million for transforming Indian slums into open-air classrooms

A narrow lane in the upscale Colaba district of Mumbai city opens onto a patch of land filled with small concrete cubicles – nooks that laundry workers use to clean and dry the city’s laundry.

Around the area are cabins painted in bright hues – red, blue, green and yellow – which are layered like puzzle blocks in an unbalanced game of Tetris. The colony is largely inhabited by launderers and their families, many of whom live and work there.

Nestled within the maze is a small learning center offering free lessons in basic math and languages, helping their children get a formal education for the first time or return to it after dropping out of school.

The center is run by a nonprofit founded by Ruble Nagi, a 45-year-old artist who has worked for three decades to bring education to some of the city’s most marginalized communities.

Earlier this month, Nagi was awarded the Global Teacher Prize, a $1 million prize launched by the Varkey Foundation in collaboration with UNESCO to recognize teachers who have made outstanding contributions to the profession.

Nagi was selected from 5,000 nominations and applications from 139 countries, according to the Global Teacher Prize website.

Nagi, through his non-profit organization, the Ruble Nagi Art Foundation (RNAF), has established “more than 800 learning centers across India, in more than 100 underserved communities and villages.”

Nagi said his inspiration to bring learning to the less fortunate came unexpectedly, about thirty years ago, when a boy walked into one of his art workshops in Mumbai. She learned that the child lived in a slum and could not afford to go to school.

Nagi says the conversation motivated her to visit the boys’ slum and she offered to beautify the locality by decorating the walls with murals.

“The children started to gather where we were painting. So I asked them if they would like to hear a story. They all said ‘yes,'” Nagi said.

She explained that it was then that she realized that children in poor communities wanted to learn and that she could spark their interest in education through art.

Over the years, Nagi and his team have established learning centers in several cities across India, where teachers are encouraged to use art-based learning to simplify concepts. Volunteers are mobilized to provide skills-based lessons and donations help children access books, bags and other school supplies.

Nagi explains that not all centers are physical classrooms. Sometimes classes take place in an open space in a slum, with students sitting on mats and carpets.

“Learning can happen anywhere. You just have to make it interesting,” says Nagi.

But managing these centers is also a challenge. Nagi says many children come from dysfunctional families and her teachers often have to act as advisors and protectors.

“If a child does not show up at one of our centers for a week, a volunteer goes to his home to check on him,” explains Nagi.

She adds that she also holds regular sessions with parents to maintain their interest in their child’s learning. This has helped many of her students complete their education and even pursue a college education after leaving the center, she said.

A former student, Mayur, now runs his own art classes and a small printing shop. On weekends, he volunteers with Nagi’s foundation, hoping to give other children in the community the same opportunities as him.

“When you work in areas like these [slums]you need to build relationships not only with students but with the entire community. Whether it’s financial help, provisions in times of need, or a listening ear to someone who is overwhelmed. If we gain the trust and support of the community, we can continue our good work,” says Nagi.

She also says she is passionate about her foundation’s “Misaal” (meaning “an example”) project, which aims to transform slums into “open-air classrooms” by painting educational murals on the walls on topics ranging from science and hygiene to environmental awareness and social responsibility.

Nagi says these murals arouse curiosity among residents and, in the long run, can also contribute to a change in people’s behavior and attitudes.

With the prize money, Nagi hopes to expand her foundation’s initiatives to more places in India, starting in the federally administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, where she grew up and where she now wants to build a learning and skills center equipped with computers.

Back in Colaba, huge murals and inspirational quotes cover the walls of the cabins. The walls of the learning center are also painted in bright colors and feature subjects ranging from plants to the animal kingdom.

Seven-year-old Khushi, a student at the center, says she loves coming “to school” and dreams of becoming a teacher. Her mother, a domestic worker, is currently the sole breadwinner.

Many other children come from similar economic backgrounds, but all have big ambitions for the future. And Nagi schools hope to help make them a reality.