To cater to students dealing with substance use disorder in the country, the Ministry of Education and Skills Development is expediting the renovation of Kelki School in Yonphula, Trashigang into a specialised school. Talking to the media during yesterday’s meet the press session, Minister Yeezang De Thapa said that the ministry is considering annual health check-ups, including drug tests for students in seventh grade and above.
The fourth National Drug Task Force meeting directed the Ministry of Education and Skills Development to speed up the establishment of a specialised school at Yonphula by July this year.
However, the education minister clarified that the school would take a few more months to open since major renovation works are required.
Once services are ready, the minister assured that the ministry will ensure that regular studies are not disrupted while students are referred to the specialised school.
“As for the curriculum, it will be similar to that of any other public school. Now, when we talk about the specialised school, students will not be studying full-time there. We do not want their regular schooling to be interrupted, so there would not be any learning losses for the students. For the time being, we want to provide treatments, and once they recover, they will be sent back to their school.”
The government bought the Kelki High School for nearly Nu 160 M. It was used as a COVID hospital and a quarantine facility during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then it has been left unattended, it has become a place for wandering livestock and animals.
“Like Kelki, just think that in a poor county like ours, where there is already a shortage of facilities, imagine how many infrastructures are left neglected and how it affects our people because of inadequate monitoring. This truly concerns me,” said Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.
The prime minister added that renovations at Kelki School will be accelerated, providing students struggling with drug use disorders an opportunity to recover without interrupting their studies.
The government spent about about Nu 538 M on individuals apprehended in drug-related cases last year.
Kinzang Lhadon
Edited by Sonam Pem
