In the world that is littered with plastics everywhere,
a school in Assam sets a glaring example of plastic recycling and management
through its unique method. The school accepts only plastic as fees from students.
Nagaland BJP leader Temjen Imna Along, who is popular for
sharing thought-provoking videos on social media, shared a clip of Akshar
Foundation, a school for underprivileged children that accepts only plastic as
fee. Every week, the students have to bring 25 plastic bottles.
‘‘If this doesn’t surprise you, what does?’’ Imna Along
wrote while sharing the video.
Parmita Sharma along with Mazin Mukhtar began the
school in 2016 after they observed two burning issues – too much plastic trash
and illiteracy.
To solve both problems, they constructed a school
where children can study for free if they collect plastic bottles every week.
The collective plastic is then used to make bricks, roads, and even toilets. At
the school, the older students teach the younger ones for which they also earn
money.
Besides, traditional subjects, students learn
languages, plastic recycling, carpentry, gardening, and more. The school even
has a 0 per cent drop rate.
“As we could never afford to recompense the kids like
the quarries, we devised a mentorship peer-to-peer learning model, whereby
older kids would tutor the younger ones, and in return get paid in toy currency
notes that can be used to buy snacks, clothes, toys and shoes at local shops.
As the students progress academically, their salaries increase. Our motto is ‘Learn
more to earn more’. This monetary incentive has proved to be a powerful
motivator for the community,” said earlier Mukhtar in an interview.
People were impressed with the idea and praised the
couple for the groundbreaking initiative, paving the way for both education and
sustainability.
Reacting to the video, one user wrote, ‘‘This is the
most beautiful video from the Northeast. Our brothers are so talented. Great
work dude.’’ Another commented, ‘‘Incredible India God bless them.’’
NE Watch Desk
