Established just two years ago, Dorokha Central School in Samtse is already facing hostel congestion. Today, 560 students occupy the hostels which have a capacity for only 240 students. Both boys and girls hostels are overcrowded.
The number of students joining the school has been on the rise. There are more than 600 students from classes’ ten to twelve. And more than 500 live in crowded rooms.
“Only 20 students are supposed to stay in a room but we have to adjust more than that. Due to the hostel congestion issue, we have not even spared entertainment rooms which are meant for TV and to play table tennis. Likewise, we have also converted the health room into a hostel given the current situation,” said Udai Narayan Bhattarai, the Principal.
The school has been constructing additional hostels since last year to address the issue. But the pandemic delayed the progress.
He said, “The construction of the new hostels began early last year. Everything was going well but as the pandemic worsened, it became difficult for the workers to complete the construction. Currently, only 50% is complete. We feel that it will take another year to complete the work.”
However, once complete, the new hostels will easily accommodate some 400 students. Until then, the problem is there to remain.
Passang Dorji, Samtse
Edited by Tandin Phuntsho
