Retired teacher Manoj Roy continues promoting kitchen gardens in Tripura schools after retirement, encouraging environmental awareness, greenery, and student participation through sapling distribution, voluntary gardening activities, and eco-friendly campus initiatives across multiple districts.
A retired school teacher from Tripura has continued his mission of promoting kitchen gardens and environmental awareness in government schools even after stepping down from official service, inspiring students and teachers across several districts through his dedication and personal efforts.
According to officials from the elementary education department, former teacher Manoj Roy was entrusted in 2021 with the additional responsibility of guiding schools and madrasas in developing kitchen gardens alongside his regular teaching duties. Over the years, the initiative has become an important part of improving greenery on school campuses while also supporting mid-day meal programmes.
Department records indicate that nearly 3,751 schools and madrasas across the state currently maintain kitchen gardens of different sizes. Vegetables and other produce grown in these gardens are being used in mid-day meals served to students, helping institutions encourage healthy eating habits and practical learning about agriculture and environmental conservation.
Despite the progress, officials stated that around 1,700 educational institutions are yet to establish kitchen gardens. Roy, who retired around six months ago, has voluntarily continued visiting schools across Tripura at his own expense to motivate authorities and students to take up gardening activities and expand green spaces within campuses.
Education officials said Roy purchases saplings using his pension money and distributes them among schools during his visits. He also encourages students to actively participate in maintaining the gardens and teaches them the importance of environmental protection, sustainable practices, and community involvement.
Through a voluntary organisation associated with him, students contributing voluntary labour towards maintaining kitchen gardens are being recognised with certificates and small gifts. Teachers and school authorities believe such encouragement has increased enthusiasm among students and strengthened participation in eco-friendly activities.
On Friday, Roy visited eight schools in North Tripura district before travelling to Dharmanagar and later to Unakoti district on Saturday. During the tour, he inspected kitchen gardens and interacted with students and teachers at several institutions, including Bimal Singha Memorial Academy, Bhagini Nivedita Higher Secondary School, R K Institution, Netaji English Medium School and Kamalpur Higher Secondary School.
School authorities said students actively participated in discussions on maintaining greener campuses and expanding kitchen garden activities. Many students reportedly expressed interest in planting more vegetables and flowers within their school premises after interacting with Roy.
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Officials believe the continued efforts of the retired teacher are helping strengthen environmental awareness among young learners while encouraging schools to adopt sustainable and community-driven initiatives for the future.
