Damphu Lower Secondary School in Tsirang has been upgraded to a Middle Secondary School from this year. The up-gradation is expected to ease the admission pressure faced by Damphu Central School. With the upgraded school now able to offer seats to Junior high school students in the locality, the only Central School in Damphu area can cater to children of humble backgrounds.
Classes for the first batch of class nine students of the school started as usual in February. Damphu Middle Secondary School, for now, has sixty students in class nine.
“A higher school comes with bigger responsibilities. Did you think over it? You should think and study for your country and your parents. And you really need to rearrange your mindset as you are now Middle Secondary students,” said Pema, the Tsirang Dzongda to the students.
According to the district’s Deputy Education Officer, the up-gradation is in line with the district’s plan to upgrade the school in the 12th Five Year Plan. Most of the class nine students are from nearby places and are children of public servants and those from the business community. This has created a platform for students from far-flung villages to avail the central school’s facility
“We have only four Middle Secondary Schools under Tsirang District and we felt it would be difficult to keep all students within the district and upgraded the school. But now we can afford seats to all students without any problem. The up-gradation has also helped in increasing more seats in Damphu Central School. This will benefit students who are from humble family backgrounds in catering boarding facilities,” said Tshering, the Deputy District Education Officer of Tsirang.
The newly upgraded Damphu Middle Secondary School has enough teaching staff and facility for its up-gradation. The school has 50 teachers of whom 23 are qualified to teach Middle Secondary School students. Meanwhile, works to construct science laboratories are underway and are expected to be complete next year for the first batch of class ten students.
The school was established in 1986. Today, the school has over one thousand students.
Pema Tshewang
