Every school day in rural Assam, dozens of teenagers go home with an unusual assignment: teach their own mother to read, or show her how to make a digital payment. The programme just won its creator India's National Teachers' Award.

  • 1 teacher, Rajesh Bordoloi, started the programme with his own Class 10 students
  • 6 villages now run "Each One Teach One," up from a single village two years ago
  • 48 educators nationwide received the 2026 National Teachers' Award alongside him
  • 2 years since the programme's first lesson

A daily assignment that goes home

Rajesh Bordoloi teaches geography at Adarsha Tribal Higher Secondary School in Kalbari, in Assam's Jorhat district, where most of his Class 10 students are first-generation learners from the Mising tribal community. Two years ago, he noticed a widening gap between his tech-savvy students and their mothers, many of whom had little or no formal schooling and struggled with basic technology.

His fix was simple: send the lesson home. Under "Each One Teach One," students walk their mothers through reading, using a smartphone, making UPI payments, and accessing online banking — turning homework time into a shared family lesson.

"When a child becomes a teacher at home, education becomes a shared journey. 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." — Rajesh Bordoloi

Why the mothers keep showing up

Nine in ten students in the programme come from agriculture-dependent households, and for their mothers, the lessons are about more than convenience. Learning from their own children has become a source of motivation to keep the kids in school, since it gives families a direct, visible return on education. The school has since started using government-provided smart boards during parent-teacher meetings to demonstrate digital tools directly to mothers, which principal Rajib Kumar Baruah says has helped many women overcome their hesitation around technology.

What began as one teacher's assignment in a single village has since spread, entirely by word of mouth, to five more: Banhphala, Bhekelichapori, Dhankhuli, Laliti Chapori Gaon, and Sarigharia.

Recognized on the national stage

Bordoloi is one of 48 educators honored at this year's National Teachers' Award, presented annually by India's Ministry of Education on Teachers' Day, September 5, according to NDTV's coverage of the full 2026 awards list. The Times of India reports his community work extends further still: he has also campaigned for years against child marriage in the villages where his programme now runs.

Bordoloi was quick to redirect credit for the honor. "This award is for my school, colleagues, students, parents and the community," he said. In the villages around Kalbari, the daily routine continues unchanged — students still come home not just with homework, but with a lesson plan for their mothers.