Education: Thrimshing Central School (TCS) was officially consecrated and inaugurated by HRH The Gyaltshab Jigme Dorji Wangchuck on September 16.

The construction of the school was completed on September 3 last year at a total cost of Nu 141.43 million, which was funded by the Government of India.

Currently, TCS has 288 students of which 212 are boarder and the remaining 76 are day scholars. The school campus area spans over 19.39 acres.

The dzongkhag education officer (DEO), Phuntsho said they are in the process of constructing a 120-bed hostel each for boys and girls. Another eight-unit classroom is also under construction.

“Works are expected to complete by 2016. Then, we should be able to enroll more boarder students,” he said. “Though the shortage of teachers is not an issue now, we would need few more when the school would start Class X sessions next year.”

Trashigang dzongdag, Lungten Dorji said Thrimshing School had remained a primary school for almost 22 years until it was upgraded to middle secondary, up to class IX, last year after the constructions completed. Soon after, it was declared as a central school.

“TCS would benefit two of the largest gewogs of Trashigang, which are Thrimshing and Kangpara,” he said. “Even villagers of Brekha would gain from it.”

Thrimshing and Kangpara together have a population of around 10,000.

Education minister, Mingbo Dukpa said the erstwhile rule where only those students living beyond the 5Km radius from the school were entitled for boarding facilities would not be the case with central schools.

“Central schools would look into the genuineness of the need and take in students,” he said. For instance, if a student lives only a few meters away from the campus but comes from a poor background, central schools would see if the student meets all the criteria required to be entitled for boarding facilities.

However, lyonpo said that central schools wouldn’t be able to accommodate every child in hostels.

“The whole objective of central schools is to provide quality education to students and groom them by keeping them within the campus most times,” he said.

Further lyonpo added that central schools should set examples and attract more students to go for boarding schools. The idea is to have about 80 percent students as boarders and 20 percent as day scholars.

On the pleas of parents of day scholar students who want their children to at least be provided with school uniforms, lyonpo responded that the proposal isn’t wise.

“If we start providing day scholars with uniforms and few other basic facilities, chances are that boarder students might opt to stay as day scholars. The whole purpose of central schools would then fail,” he said. “The objective is to rope in as may boarder students as possible.”

The economic affairs minister Norbu Wangchuk, the works and human settlement minister Dorji Choden and Trashigang Rabdey Lam Neten among others attended the inauguration.

During the event, HRH also interacted with the people and granted Tokha to more than 2,000 people who had gathered for the school’s inaugural.

Tshering Wangdi, Trashigang