More than a hundred students of Drujyegang Central School have to walk about two kilometres to and from school every day.

Last year, when Drujyegang Middle Secondary School was upgraded to a Central School, it was merged with the nearby Pangna Primary School.  The school had no option but to function from two locations, two kilometers apart.

Education officials said that the school tried to make classroom at the Pangna and keep students at the Central School hostel. But that caused difficulty for both teachers and students.

The school and the dzongkhag education sector so converted the Pangna Pry School’s two structures (12 units) into hostel to cater to students from class PP and VI. The hostel in the central School campus is being used as classroom for seven sections.

Officials said, students face difficulty in traveling between the hostel and classroom. Situation is worst during monsoon. In winter soon after classes gets over, evening study conducted until 6.30pm. When the study is over, it is already dark making it difficult for students to walk back to hostel.

The school has a total of 953 students; 676 are borders.

Adjacent to the central school is a Grade II Basic Health Unit. Drujyegang community has been requesting the dzongkhag health sector for up-gradation of the BHU to grade I. The BHU has about a three-acre campus.

In the recent Dzongkhag Tshogdu, local leaders of Drujyegang proposed that the school and BHU could exchange locations.

Drujyegang Gup Karma Tshering said that the BHU, which is likely to be upgraded to grade I, could occupy structures of Pangna Primary School.

The exchange of locations will enable the central school to expand and be able to come up with additional structures.

Construction of additional structure, a six-unit classroom, is ongoing on in the school. It is expected to meet the school’s need of additional classrooms.

Chief dzongkhag education officer, Tshewang Penjor, said that the problem is not the shortage of classroom or hostel but the long walking distance between the classroom and the hostel.

“Construction of the additional structures, which will be used as classroom, will be ready soon and by next academic session the problem will be solved,” he said.

The exchange of locations between the School and BHU, he said, has been included in the 12th five year plan.

Nirmala Pokhrel | Drujyegang