This Kot Khalsa teacher gives impetus to learning through innovative practices

Neha Saini

Amritsar, September 9

Giving impetus to learning through innovative practices and pushing towards sustainability, Palvinder Kaur, a science teacher at Government Senior Secondary School, Kot Khalsa, has been working on projects on solid liquid waste management, earning national and international recognition in the process. Palvinder has been running SLRM projects, creating pesticides, insecticides and biofuels from kitchen waste, school waste and other waste products for the last four years. This year, she has managed to create bioplastic using potato peels and kitchen waste from waste rice cooked in mid-day meal in school, in an effort to minimise waste in school.

“This project was assigned to us by Punjab State Council for Science and Technology in collaboration with Wipro. We managed to derive starch from potato peels and waste rice, treat it in sunlight, and add acetic acid and glycerine. The mixture is heated and then cooled to get a transparent bioplastic film. I worked on this project with two of my students Vanshika and Pranshi, who are currently studying in Class X in our school,” she informed.

Palvinder and her students were honoured by International Society IRIS National Fair, 2023 and by National Geographic. Their project also won award at the National Children Science Congress. “It was encouraging for my students to share the platform with children from across the country and exchnge ideas that will push them towards building scientific temperament,” said Palvinder.

Since 2020, her projects have earned recognition at National Children Science Congress. Also, the fact that Palvinder, through her scientific innovations, is supporting students from lower income families to realise their scientific potential.

“Most of the students that I work with come from very poor families with zero means. Their parents are either daily wagers or have single earning member, limiting their resources. So, I spend from my own pocket to fund my projects to enable my students learn while they practise concepts of science,” says Palvinder.

She has previously worked on creating biofuel, using kitchen waste, producing insect repellent from garden and plant waste and other waste management projects. Expanding the scope of her waste management project, four of her students have also been recognized for their social innovation to reuse kitchen waste selected at National Children Science Congress — namely Harmanpreet Singh and Gursewak Singh, Vanshika and Harpreet Singh.