The two schools of Lunana remained closed up to two months as parents took their children with them for cordyceps collection. This is nothing new in Lunana, particularly during the year when Fangu village yields bumper harvest.
The bumper harvest in Fangu usually happens once every five years.
The trend led to Lunana Primary School in Lhedi to open in March this year, which is earlier than usual.
A total of 14 students reported but by May, almost all of them left to go with their parents to collect cordyceps. Locked classroom doors and silence greeted visitors to the schools.
Teachers have no choice but go with the flow. It took them years to convince the parents to enroll their children in school.
Preventing children from going for cordyceps collection seems no less daunting a task. It is a challenge the teachers are yet to overcome.
“Not all students leave because some of them are small and can’t stand the harsh weather conditions at Fangu. We teach the ones who stay back,” Gem Dorji, the school’s Officiating Principal, said.
In Tshojong village, gusty winds during the long winter had blown off the roof of the Extended Classrooms (ECR). The school wore a forlorn look as they waited for the students to return.
However, now with the cordyceps collection season over, the students have returned and the teachers are rushing to cover the syllabus.
“We have to make up for the lost time of about one-and-a-half-month,” Ugyen Norbu, a teacher at Lunana Primary School, said.
“We take remedial classes. We also go to the hostels to help the students and call them to our homes when they need assistance.”
Lunana Primary School has 32 students and Tshojong ECR has 21.
