Guwahati

Learning to test water quality may soon become an essential life skill for Assam’s school students amid growing concerns over pollution.

Aaranyak, a Guwahati-headquartered biodiversity conservation organisation, has started an initiative to teach schoolchildren how to turn science lessons into real-world environmental action. The crash course began with water testing—at school, home, and elsewhere—for pH (potential of hydrogen), total dissolved solids, hardness, alkalinity, chloride, nitrate, iron, fluoride, and other parameters.

The organisation has partnered with the Assam Pollution Control Board, Samagra Shiksha Assam, and Wipro Earthian to instil water conservation and pollution awareness in young minds during what the United Nations described as a looming era of global water bankruptcy.

The initiative, beginning with Krishnanagar Vidyapeeth High School on Wednesday (May 13, 2026), seeks to sensitise students to the growing global and local water crisis through hands-on scientific learning and practical community engagement.

“Apart from learning simple testing methods, I came to know about fluoride and arsenic and their potential impacts on our bodies. The activity has inspired me to think differently about water-related issues in my locality,” Pratisma Rabha, a Class 8 student of the school, said.

“Such experiential learning genuinely helps bridge theoretical knowledge and real-world environmental challenges,” said the school’s senior science teacher, Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma.

According to Aaranyak’s Tikendrajit Gogoi and Geetashree Sarma, who coordinated the water-testing sessions with students and teachers, the activity went beyond classroom experiments. They said students were assigned mini case studies to document public attitudes toward water pollution and conservation, as well as assess water usage patterns in their homes and neighbourhoods.

“The programme also highlighted the growing contradiction in Guwahati, where several localities struggle with drinking water scarcity even as others battle recurring floods and waterlogging,” Mr. Gogoi said.

Data from the World Health Organisation and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund reveal that about 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, a crisis worsened by climate change and pollution.

A United Nations report released in January warned that Earth’s water reservoirs have been exploited beyond their renewable limits, pushing many regions into an irreversible “post-permanent crisis.”