Lhakpa Quendren | Sarpang

To provide decent living space for students and ease the burden on parents, a two-storey building hostel of Lharing Primary School in Sarpang is under construction.

Given that the school does not have hostel facilities, some parents from Maenchhulam, Rilangthang, and Sangkha Chiwogs are living in rental houses around the school with their children.

Lhakpa Choden Sherpa, 39, from Sangkha, said that the hostel facility would immensely benefit the school-going children and bring relief to parents. 

“All children are mostly minors and have to walk for one and a half hours every morning and evening from home to reach school.”

Without hostel facilities, she said both parents and children face a lot of difficulties. “We are not able to do any work. But staying around the school enables our children to focus better on their studies.”

Lhakpa Choden pays a monthly rent of Nu 700 for the house she rented for three school-going children. There are many parents who stay with their children in rented houses around the school.

According to the parents, children do better living in school.

“They are not getting time to study at home because they have to attend to household chores,” a parent said.

Following a proposal from the school, the hostel is being constructed with financial support worth Nu 3 million from the Gakiling Gewog Administration.

Gakiling Gup Nim Dorji Sherpa said that the construction, which is supposed to complete by June, is about 85 percent completed. “The construction began four months ago and the contractor also ensured to handover the structure within 15 days.”

“In case there is no support from the government, the gewog administration in collaboration with the public would support the dinner programme,” he said, adding that the government requires a minimum of 130 students to provide boarding facilities.

With the hostel facility, Nim Dorji Sherpa said the number of student enrollment is expected to increase. “Without boarding facilities, many students go to other schools, which resulted in the declining number of students in Lharing.”

Gempo Tshering, a senior teacher, said that some 20 students have to walk for long hours to reach their homes. “Previously, they were housed in the temporary huts. Providing a boarding facility would help in work improvement of the students since they don’t have to engage in other household chores at home.”

Lharing Primary School is one of the remotest schools in Sarpang and there are 93 students and 10 staff, including six teachers.