Nima | Gelephu

The first batch of Class X students—33 in all—of Jigmecholing Middle Secondary School, Sarpang will take the common examinations next month.

The school is expected to start boarding facilities next year after the construction of two 64-bed hostels for girls and boys are completed.

Construction of the two hostels and staff quarters were awarded to PT Construction Private Limited in March of last year. The contract firm was not able to start work on the foundation until recently, almost nine months after the contracts were awarded.

The owner of the construction firm, Pema Thinley, said the local workers couldn’t manage the construction, and the pandemic made it difficult to bring in skilled foreign workers.

“The skilled workers from India are deployed and more will be joining in the upcoming weeks. We hired local workers for site development,” he said.

The delay was also caused by incomplete land transactions at the current construction site.

Locals say that over 30 students live with relatives or renting, and the school has been providing breakfast and lunch to students.

The school also does not have adequate staff quarters.

Rajesh Rai from Jigmecholing said accommodation was not a problem for students with relatives living nearby.

“But students coming from far-flung places might face a difficult time with studying,” he said.

The construction of staff quarters and two 64-bed hostels is estimated to cost over Nu 36 million.