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Bhutan's
Education |
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Bhutan's
Education |
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Wangdue:
Sha Taksha - The school where time stood still
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Thirteen-year-old Sonam has never asked anyone the meaning of the grace he murmurs after his friends before every meal. He is more concerned about his food getting cold or wet.
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| Sitting on a rickety bench in a makeshift dining hall, the student of Sha Taksha primary school in Wangdue Phodrang hastily eats his rice and dal (lentils) as soon as grace is said. "It's too cold and windy here," said Sonam, as he neatly cleans the last grain off his plate. Before the students can finish their meal, a gust of wind rattles the temporary walls of the hall. |
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Students cover their plates and mugs to prevent sand from getting into their lunch. "It's always like this, madam," says another student, as she removes a dry pine needle from her cup.
Located at a six-hour uphill climb from the nearest road head, Sha Taksha school lacks most of the basic facilities. There is no road, electricity and the diesel generator has become defunct. The 200 students studying there come from Rukha, one of the backward communities in the dzongkhag.
A two-storied traditional house serves as the academic block, three small old, one-storied buildings are boys' hostels, and teachers live in little shacks. The boys use the outhouse toilet about a block away from the hostel. "In summer, we're scared of snakes," said a class five student. "We go to the toilet in large groups because we're scared." Six teachers also share a small toilet.
The only development in the school was the Tarayana-funded girl's hostel, which has toilet and water inside. "I wish we also have a proper toilet inside our hostel," said a student, Dorji. "It's cold and scary."
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| Sha Taksha primary school in Wangdue Phodrang |
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The principal of the school said that education and gewog officials visited the school and were informed about its condition. "Nothing has been done as of now," he said. "We'll ask the gewog to prioritise it."
The Daga gup Wangchuk said that Nu 2.2 million was allocated to construct a dining hall, toilet, football ground and principal's quarter in the school in the 10th Plan, but nothing came through as it is centrally executed.
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"The gewog magmi and I went to the dzongkhag education office, but he said that the budget didn't come through," he said.
The school will have a toilet this winter, according to Wangdue DEO, Karma Tenzin. "A new toilet will be constructed with material from UNICEF and the dzongkhag funding the labourers. It will be constructed soon," he said. Karma Tenzin said that the dzongkhag was aware of the plight of students without a multi purpose hall and the construction of the hall was prioritised in the 10th plan. "But it was dropped from the plan at the ministry. We're following up on that," he said.
| Contributed
by Tashi Demafor KUENSEL, Bhutan's national newspaper, 2009 |
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