India, Nov. 14 -- EVERY SUNDAY at 9 am, about 100 children gather under a large tree in Vivekananda Ward, a tribal settlement in Panagar town, Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh. These children come from Vivekanand Ward, as well as other tribal settlements like Jaiprakash Ward, Subhash Ward and Bisendi village, for three hours of lessons on Hindi, English, mathematics, science, social science and art. This open school, simply named Street School, is not like any other weekend tuition-it runs with the purpose of stopping children from succumbing to addiction to harmful narcotics.

"About 80 per cent of the children who come to Street School belong to the Kol tribal community, who mainly depend on fishing and daily wage labour. Most of the p...