JORHAT: Geography teacher Rajesh Bordoloi gives his Class 10 batch, comprising mostly first-generation tribal learners, a daily assignment that goes beyond textbook teaching methods.At home, these children from the villages around Adarsha Tribal Higher Secondary School at Kalbari in Assam’s Jorhat district graduate into tutors, teaching their mothers to read, make UPI payments, access online banking and navigate digital services, reports Kangkan Kalita. For many of these women with little or no schooling, learning from their children at home is not just about convenience but also motivation to continue sending their wards to school.The “Each One Teach One” initiative powering this literacy mission has just fetched 50-year-old Rajesh Bordoloi National Teachers’ Award.Bordoloi, one among 48 educators to have been conferred the award, started the programme two years ago after noticing the growing literacy gap between a digitally familiar younger generation and mothers who struggled with even basic technology.The most feasible solution, he figured, was to take learning beyond the school gate and make students the architects of change.“When a child becomes a teacher at home, education becomes a shared journey,” Bordoloi said. “There is something deeply inspiring about seeing a student sit beside his or her mother and patiently explain how to use a mobile phone or make a digital payment.”Nine out of 10 students involved in the initiative belong to the agriculture-dependent tribal Mising community, spread across Majuli and nearby areas. The Each One Teach One programme has already expanded beyond Kalbari to Banhphala, Bhekelichapori, Dhankhuli, Laliti Chapori Gaon and Sarigharia.Bordoloi’s school now uses govt-provided smart boards during parent-teacher meetings to demonstrate digital tools. Principal Rajib Kumar Baruah acknowledged that the programme had helped women overcome their hesitation about technology.Bordoloi’s community work goes beyond spreading digital literacy among unlettered tribal women through their children. For several years, he has campaigned against child marriage, starting in Bhekelichapori, where minor girls would routinely drop out of school and elope.The national award, Bordoloi said, was more recognition of a collective effort than a personal milestone. “This award is for my school, colleagues, students, parents and the community,” he said.
