Sudden bandh blow to school larders
Posted by barunroy on June 11, 2008
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| Boarders with their luggage near Damber Chowk in Kalimpong. The Morcha had allowed the students to return to their hostels after the summer vacation. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha |
Darjeeling, June 10: Boarding schools across the Darjeeling hills are apprehensive about what might happen if their food stocks do not last till the indefinite bandh is lifted.
Education, after tea and tourism, is one of the backbones of the hill economy with around 30 private schools in the three subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong boasting of students even from neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan, besides the plains.
“There are around 9,000-10,000 boarders in the hills,” said Robi Subba, a former president of the Association of ISC Schools, West Bengal chapter, and one of the directors of Himali Boarding School in Kurseong.
Many schools have maintained that their stocks can last them only for a week.
“We have 460 boarders in our school and since the strike was called suddenly, we can only carry on for a week. We are just hoping that the bandh will not continue for long,” said Father Kinley Tshering, rector, St Joseph’s School, (North Point), Darjeeling.
But even the weeklong stock may not be of the best quality, school authorities have warned. “How can we expect to give them fresh vegetables. They will have to do with aloos mostly,” said Tshering.
Many schools in Darjeeling are expected to close for a short summer vacation from June 21. Others like Mount Hermon and St Paul’s have just opened after a week-long summer vacation.
“We were scheduled to hold our semester examinations from Friday, just before the vacation. We have yet not postponed the examination, hoping the strike would be called off,” said Tshering.
Only board and university examinations have been left out of the purview of the bandh.
In Kurseong, Victoria Boys’ School and Dowhill Girls’ School will be shutting down for the summer on June 18. “We are worried about how the students will go home,” said Jayanta Pal, the principal of the boys’ institution.
The authorities of Himali are worried more about the food stock than the ‘O’ level exams of International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) that are being held now.
“Although we have 16 candidates appearing for IGCSE, today’s test was for only one student who happened to be a boarder,” said Subba. “For us the exams are not a problem because the examinees are all boarders. But we don’t know what will happen when the food stock finishes.”
The institution has been following the Cambridge curriculum since it became the first Cambridge International Examination centre in northeastern India in 2005.
Roshan Giri, the general secretary of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha said the party would relax the bandh hours for shoppers. “This is just the first day. We will definitely provide a relaxation a few days later,” he said. [The Telegraph]
