Proper education is a rare luxury for most people in rural India. (Eagle9 / Shutterstock, Inc.)
One primary school in India has garnered worldwide attention for their decision not to charge tuition for the children’s education. Instead, the school asks that parents plant trees to support their environmental initiative, which was started by local businessmen hoping to send more children to school.
The Shiksha Kuteer elementary school, located in the small village of Bargai in India's Chhattisgarh state, teaches 35 students ages 4-5 who otherwise couldn’t afford to receive an education. Parents in the village are thrilled by the prospect of their children learning useful skills. “Shiksha Kuteer has opened in the village for students who are poor and have no money to pay fees. Students are being taught in English. They are being taught till a certain standard and their guardians have been asked to plant saplings instead of paying fees,” one villager told the Indian Express.
Since the school opened its doors a little over a year ago, over 700 tree saplings have been planted around the village. The students' parents are resonsible for the care of the saplings and should one of the trees die, they are required to plant another in it’s place.
The generous intiative offers much needed education to those who need it most and, after receiving glowing recommendations by the villagers, will hopefully soon spark many similar projects offering quality education at a marginal cost.
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