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PB Acharya and his wife with the students and staff of Akshar Foundation at Guwahati on June 13.[/caption]
Dimapur, June 14 (EMN): Governor of Nagaland, PB Acharya was impressed with plastic bottles and other wastes being used as eco-bricks and beautification purposes during his visit to the Akshar Forum, which was set up by the Akshar Foundation, at Guwahati on Thursday, informed an update from PRO Raj Bhavan.
The Governor appreciated the management for having innovative ideas and eco-friendly projects. He also interacted with the students and teachers of the institute and encouraged them to spread awareness on the importance of conserving the environment.
During the visit, Acharya planted two tree saplings in the school premises. He opined that such initiatives (tree plantation) were required “to save our planet earth and wished the Akshar Foundation success in their efforts.”
Akshar Foundation is an Assam-based non-governmental organisation developed an award-winning, disruptive education model, designed specifically for children in poverty. To prevent dropout, the school employs older students as tutors for younger children and pay them to perform development work in the community after school.
“The organisation uses child labour to fight child labour - kids in poverty need to earn money to stay in school, learning and earning. The children are employed as tutors and social workers. This ensures that younger children receive daily tuition from an older, caring student,” read the statement from PRO Raj Bhavan.
“Students at the school learn more to earn more – the students are paid based on their skills and knowledge and are fined for bad behaviour. As students move from one grade level to the next, their wages increase. Also, wages increase with teaching skill. Students are strongly incentivized to behave like model students,” it added.
The statement went on to say that the school places every student directly into a career by making them stay in the school until it finds a career for them through college or apprenticeship in a high-skill trade. Teens develop vocational skills, in addition to teaching during the critical 12-18 age group. At the moment school-to-career model is in the pipeline, it added.