Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS), Jabbowal, in Amritsar has achieved a double national honour in the prestigious Generation for Climate Action (GENCAN) Competition, which was organised recently by HCL Foundation in collaboration with the Centre for Environment Education (CEE).
The school has been declared a National Winner School, while Sanjeev Kumar, Vocational Lecturer (Horticulture), has been named the national winner of the Best Performing Mentor Teacher honour, marking a rare and significant dual achievement for the institution.
“The achievements are being seen as a historic milestone for the school, especially since it is a government school from Amritsar. Securing two national recognitions in the same competition is a matter of immense pride not only for the institution, but also for the entire region,” Kumar said.
A team of the school’s students actively participated in a wide range of environmental sustainability activities throughout the GENCAN campaign. One of the key highlights was a large-scale e-waste collection drive, during which students gathered several kilograms of electronic waste from the school campus, their homes, and nearby localities.
Instead of discarding the materials, students creatively reused the collected e-waste to make useful everyday items, decorative models, awareness displays, and innovative teaching-learning aids, promoting the concepts of reusing products and responsible waste management.
Students also conducted awareness campaigns about electricity and water conservation on the school campus.
Posters, slogans, demonstrations, and interactive activities were organised in a bid to encourage the responsible use of natural resources.
Another significant initiative involved the recycling and reuse of agricultural waste. Students transformed agricultural residue and discarded materials into useful products and learning models, including murals, reinforcing the message of sustainable living and waste management.
“Plastic recycling also remained one of the major focus areas of the project. Students prepared colourful decorative artefacts, utility items, and awareness materials from plastic waste, demonstrating how recycling can reduce environmental pollution while encouraging innovation and creativity among young learners,” Kumar added.
As part of the campaign, students carried out a detailed environmental and pollution audit within the school, and in nearby areas.
“They monitored and recorded the daily number of vehicles entering the campus, analysed how many students and staff were using carpooling facilities, and raised awareness over the importance of reducing vehicular pollution. An extensive energy audit was also conducted, in which students observed the usage hours of electrical appliances such as fans, lights, coolers, computers, and other equipment to study electricity consumption patterns, and identify ways to conserve energy,” Kumar said.
Students also engaged in activities related to waste segregation, plantation drives, compost preparation from biodegradable waste, reduction of single-use plastic, paper recycling, and awareness rallies on climate change and sustainable living.
Through surveys, presentations, and community engagement programmes, they exhorted people to adopt eco-friendly habits in their daily lives.
Apart from these activities, the school undertook several other climate action initiatives aimed at promoting environmental awareness, community participation, sustainable practices, and eco-friendly habits among students, and the wider community.
Kumar said the recognition belonged to the dedicated students, supportive school administration, and everyone who contributed to the success of the campaign.
He added that such initiatives inspired young minds to become responsible citizens and future climate leaders.
