For over ten years, most parents and students at Kazhi Primary School in Wangdue Phodrang have been living in makeshift shelters to attend the school. Otherwise, the students have to walk for hours to get to class. Now, both parents and the school administration are calling for a boarding facility to ease the burden.
As rain patters on the roofs of around 30 makeshift shelters near the school, Kinley Phub wonders whether the school will ever receive a proper boarding facility or even a school bus.
Like her, many parents, mostly elders, build temporary shelters and move in with their children at the start of each academic session. Some have been doing this for nearly a decade.
It’s a decision they would not have to make if the school had a boarding facility. Yet, each year, they leave their homes and livelihoods behind in Lengbi and Baedro Chiwogs.
Without these arrangements, parents say their children have to walk for hours through dense forest, fearing wild animal attacks and landslides during monsoon. They say children arrive tired and cannot focus on their studies. Of the 124 students at the school, more than 90 live in these makeshift shelters.
“We waste time here as we stay with our children without work. If we were home, we could help with cooking and grazing animals,” said Kinley Phub, a parent.
“My only daughter stays back home, and I spend time here doing nothing. We face many problems and have lots of work at home. Living here also costs more, as we must buy rations and vegetables,” said Sangay Zangmo, another parent.
Khandu Wangmo, also a parent, says, “We could grow vegetables at home, but here we have to buy everything. We feel bored. We can’t do our usual work here or at home.”
“There’s only one tap and no clean toilets. Our children often fall ill because we can’t maintain proper hygiene. We face many problems here,” said Kinley Wangmo, another parent.
The school principal is also worried that the temporary shelters offer no proper protection and are unhygienic.
The school, established in 2001, for now provides only breakfast and lunch.
“We feel it’s helpful to stay in these shelters, much better than having the students travel long distances from their villages every day. It even help with their studies. I believe a proper boarding facility is urgently needed, if possible,” said Tandin Norbu, the principal of Kazhi Primary School.
The issue was also discussed during the last Dzongkhag Tshogdu.
“We are required to present our findings at the next session after conducting a feasibility study. The proposal will then be submitted to the education ministry. From our side, we believe there is clear feasibility for establishing a boarding facility,” said Dorji Pasang, the district chief education officer.
Despite the hardship, parents remain hopeful. They believe that a proper boarding facility will soon become a reality with the right support.
Changa Dorji, Wangdue Phodrang
Edited by Sangay Chezom
