Filling the Skillgap – Unique model of Akshar Foundation’s school trains students in lucrative skills
An ancient tradition of holistic education, which imparts hands-on learning is manifested by Akshar Foundation’s school in Assam wherein students learn skills such as sewing, carpentry, gardening, printing, upcycling and recycling, and earn money too.
By blending student-centered academics with hands-on, practical training — experiential coursework, project-based learning, vocational skills development, and community service-learning — the Indian Education Model equips students with the skills they need to build a successful life.
Following the Gandhi’s dream of Nai Taleem, Children Earn While They Learn At the Akshar Foundation’s school near Guwahati, students learn skills such as sewing, carpentry, gardening, printing, upcycling and recycling, and earn money too. This model of teaching has been adopted by several schools in Assam.
The students, who come from underprivileged families, are grouped based on skill levels rather than age. The children also earn while they learn these skills so that they can support their families. ‘Earning While Learning’ is the motto of this school in Assam, which started with 10 children and today has 110 students with almost an equal number of boys and girls in classes one to 12.
As per, Alaka Sarma, the founder of the school, “the reason behind the unconventional method of teaching at the school is to spread the light of education for the underprivileged community at Pamohi on the outskirts of Guwahati, where poverty is rampant and literacy scarce. ”
But, providing education to the underprivileged comes with its unique set of challenges, as the founder of the school found out. Many of the children worked as ragpickers, did odd jobs, or took care of their younger siblings at home. To address this concern, the school decided to follow skill-based education.
The school has been running successfully for the past seven years based on Mahatma Gandhi’s Nai Talim Education Philosophy that promotes the integration of knowledge and work. Students at Akshar Foundation learn skills such as sewing, carpentry, gardening, printing, upcycling and recycling plastic products, and more.
The students also make eco-bricks with waste plastics which students bring to the school every Thursday and then recycle it. This way they are also addressing a burning problem in their neighbourhood.
Akshar Foundation has also collaborated with Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan of Assam to implement the Akshar National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 model in government schools across the state. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan is an overarching programme for the school education sector, extending from pre-school to class 12, which implements a broader goal of improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes.
Hailed as a changemaker, Akshar Foundation’s model is adopted by 14 schools in the northeastern state that have already adopted its model, which is likely to scale up to 25 this year and 100 next year.
