Paathshaala

Rahul Udyavar joins as the new English teacher at Saraswati Vidya Mandir. He quickly wins over students with his approachable teaching style and earns the respect of several teachers in a short time.

During an early staff meeting, Aditya Sahay discovers Rahul's notable musical talent and asks him to teach the music class as part of the school's renewal. This expands Rahul's role beyond ordinary classroom duties.

Aditya expresses concern about the school's declining reputation and limited funds. He announces that he will send a policy email outlining steps for the school's resurgence and requests the teachers' cooperation.

In the days that follow, Rahul bonds with students and fellow teachers, winning the trust of Vikram and Natasha and helping Anjali connect with her colleagues. His presence begins to unify a previously tense atmosphere.

A follow-up email lays out the resurgence plan, proposing larger class sizes, possible staff reductions, and mandatory participation in extracurricular activities. The proposal also hints at raising fees, which upsets many parents and students.

Sports teacher Mr. Chauhan leads the teachers' union in opposing the plan, arguing that the changes would harm education quality. The faculty's resistance puts pressure on Aditya from the board and threatens the viability of the reform.

Aditya enforces aggressive measures to boost revenue, including higher lunch coupon prices, school-sold equipment, junk food allowances, higher fees, and compulsory purchase of instruments from the school. Students who can't pay face punishment in the sun, while Rahul quietly steps in to help defray costs.

Rahul personally covers the fees of defaulting students, shielding them from the punitive measures. His action highlights the ethical tension at the heart of the crisis.

A week into the crackdown, Aditya is away and Sharma begins implementing the new policies. The teachers grow suspicious that these measures were not truly from Aditya's office.

Rahul unites Anjali and Chauhan to challenge the management's excesses, and gradually the group gains wider support. Aditya defends the contentious decisions, leaving teachers shocked by the apparent conflict.

The teachers plan to resign in protest, but discover that the board already has an alternate staff list ready to take over. They decide not to resign and instead pursue a rollback through collective action.

Management involves media planners to push extracurriculars, pushing reality TV shoots and commercial work. The relentless publicity drives up stress and undermines students' well-being.

Students go on strike as the pressures mount, with Rahul initially supporting them and later more teachers joining the protest. The strike becomes a national issue that questions the commercialization of education.

Aditya resigns and reveals the pressure from Dholakia to upgrade facilities for profit. He explains threats to demolish the school if profits don't improve and admits he couldn't secure funds, prompting the staff and students to urge him to stay.

The media criticize the commercialization of education and the rush for publicity. Sahay resumes his duties as principal, signaling a return to focusing on students.