Starting next year, due to the shortage of students, 13 Primary Schools in Trashigang will be downgraded to Extended Classrooms. Four Schools, specifically, Tongling Primary Schoool under Radhi Gewog, Jangsheri Primary School under Bidung Gewog, Yobinang Primary School under Shongphu Gewog and Rangshikhar Primary School under Samkhar Gewog will be downgraded to Extended Classrooms.
The Dzongkhag Tshogdu of Trashigang discussed, yesterday, the schools will be downgraded within 11th Five Year Plan and also that it was the consequence of rural-urban migration.
The Dzongkhag Education Officer, Dorji Passang, said there wasn’t a single enrollment in the pre-primary class of Jangsheri School. He said the school saw only four news students in grade one. “In total, there are just about 20 students.”
Dorji Passang also said in their projection for next year, there will just be 10 students, and in 2015 there will be just nine students. “We have to the point where we might have to close the school itself.”
A primary school has classes starting from Pre Primary to grade six and it is mandatory to have at least 100 students in total. The 13 schools in Trashigang did not fulfill the required criteria. Some schools had just about 10 to 20 students.
An extended classroom has classes starting from PP to three.
The students of the 13 schools, once they pass out from ECRs, will be sent to nearby Primary schools.
Today, Trashigang Dzongkhag has 41 Primary Schools, five Middle Secondary Schools, 10 Lower Secondary Schools and four Higher Secondary Schools excluding Sherubtse College and Khaling Muenseling School.
After the 11th Five Year Plan Trashigang will have 47 Schools.
