Blog 20_World's youngest headmaster teaches at family backyard

You do not need many years of teaching experience or the perfect classroom to be a good teacher and change life. All you need is the hunger to learn and the determination to share. Babar Ali, a 16-year-old schoolboy from Murshidabad, West Bengal, is a remarkable example.

Babar Ali is the protagonist of the first report in the BBC's Hunger to Learn series. At the age of 16, he is the world's youngest headmaster. He has no formal teaching qualification and is just a normal teenager. What makes him extraordinary is that everyday he runs classes for hundreds of poor students from his village, in his family's backyard.

Being the first in his family to receive proper education, Babar Ali understands how precious education is.

"It's not easy for me to come to school because I live so far away," he says, "but the teachers are good and I love learning."

Everyday before classes, Babar Ali has to help out with household chores before going to school. He takes an auto-rickshaw for a ride of about 10km (six miles) to Raj Govinda and has to walk the last couple of kilometres.

Raj Govinda is a government-run school which is free. However, it is still very difficult for parents to send their kids to school -- many cannot afford the US$40 fees each year for school uniform, books and transportation.

Barba Ali understands the obstacles for his fellow villagers. When he was nine, he already started teaching a few friends and eventually decided to open an unofficial school and give lessons at his backyard everyday at 4pm. He teaches and shares what he learns from school in front of a massive crowd.

Now his afternoon school has 10 teachers, including Barba Ali himself, and 800 students, mostly girls.

"My father is handicapped and cannot work," says Chumki Hajra, a 14-year-old girl attending Barba Ali's unofficial school. She has been a full-time cleaner since she was five and never attended school.

"We need the money. If I don't work, we can't survive as a family. So I have no choice but to do this job." she told the Damian Grammaticas of the BBC.

Nelson Mandela once said "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." In this case, Barba Ali is an excellent soldier.

For the full report or interviews on BBC, click here