From the depths of the ocean to the peaks of mountains, plastic waste is polluting our planet. Compared to two decades ago, the production of plastic waste worldwide has now doubled, and most of it ends up in landfills. A school in Assam has taken an initiative to successfully recycle a small portion of this waste.
Imran Alam is the Minister of Tourism and Higher Education in Nagaland. He shared a video of an educational institution created for underprivileged children. The school is located in the Gorchuuk area of Guwahati, the capital city of Assam. Here, in exchange for their tuition fees, students contribute plastic waste. Each week, a student is required to submit 25 plastic bottles.
Established in 2016, the school was founded by Paramita Sharma and Mazin Mukhtar, a couple who saw the two biggest challenges of the present day as excessive waste and vulnerability. They decided to tackle both problems by starting this school. If students can collect and submit spare plastic bottles every week, they can attend classes for free. These accumulated bottles are now used in making bricks, constructing roads, and even building toilets. The older students of the school also mentor the new ones, creating an opportunity for them to earn.
The school has over a hundred students, ranging from 4 to 15 years old. They come from various villages nearby.
In 2013, Mazin came to India from New York for a school project. It was during this time that he was introduced to Paramita. Paramita was then a student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
Mazin said, “Many students who drop out of school end up working in factories and quarries from a very young age, under very difficult circumstances. We thought of creating a school that not only provides them with quality education but also fulfills their financial needs.”
Apart from regular subjects, the school teaches students various skills outside the curriculum, including recycling plastic, carpentry, and gardening. The number of dropouts in the school is now almost zero.
