Phuensumgang Community Primary School – The school of hard knocks
Senior citizens and children alike suffer and sacrifice at the altar of education
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| CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD? – Taking care of themselves and their education |
A six-hour climb from Bhurchu, about 94 km away from Dagana proper, up on a hill, is Phuensumgang community primary school. Except for the Lajab gewog office, RNR centre and BHU, there is no settlement around. The nearest village is a two-hour walk away from the school.
But about 20 tiny, one-storey bamboo huts, located near the school, look like a village to any newcomer. These are the boarding hostels, constructed by parents of the 156 students in the school. In one of the huts, Kinzang Drakpa, 64, is making fern curry for his grandchildren, studying in classes four and two.
A retired soldier from Pemagatshel Shaligamong, Kinzang resettled a decade ago in Sipa village, two hours by foot from the school. In the absence of any school near the village and at his niece’s request, the lanky old man has spent the last few years in Phuensumgang school, cooking and looking after his niece’s children.
Kinzang spends his day collecting firewood and wild vegetables. “The children get breakfast and lunch from the school, so I only need to prepare their dinner,” he said. Continue reading The Cost of Education in Rural Bhutan