DEPARTMENTAL BRIEFS East Zone Counseling Cell Opens in Darjeeling Meeting on Curriculum Framework Culture Awareness talks in schools CST Chauntra's Sister School in New York Shimla School Introduces Jangshing Writing Tibetan Schools achieve 91% pass in Board Exams Nepal Schools Excel in Board Exam Secretary visits schools in the East Pre-Primary Teacher training at EITE concludes Primary teacher training begins at Sarah Guidance & Counselling Programmes SCHOOL FEATURE : Central School for Tibetans, Miao PROJECT NEWS SCHOLARSHIP NEWS

DEPARTMENTAL BRIEFS

East Zone Counseling Cell Opens in Darjeeling All India Senior School Certificate Examination (AISSCE) and All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE) conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi began March 1 and will conclude on April 5. About 1670 students of Class X from 26 Tibetan schools and 1075 students of Class XII from 14 Tibetan schools in India have appeared for the Board examinations. The results are usually declared in the last week of May. This year, for the first time, students of Tibetan Children's Village School at Selakui and Sambhota Tibetan School at Bhuntar are appearing for AISSE. Meeting on Curriculum Framework Department of Education constituted an eight-member committee for the preparation of curriculum framework on pre-primary and primary education as enshrined in the Basic Education Policy for Tibetan in exile. The first committee meeting was held from April 16-21 in the conference hall of the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, Dharamsala. Education Kalon met the members and suggested basic guidelines on drafting the curriculum. Karma Chungdak, Director of Sambhota Tibetan Schools Society, chairs the drafting committee. Dr. B. Tsering, EDRC Director Ngawang Sherab, Principal of TCV TTC Pema Yangdon, THF Mussoorie teacher Phurbu Dhondup, CST Mussoorie teacher Nyima Gyaltsen, CST Shimla teacher Konchok and CST Manali teacher Penpa Topgyal are the other members. They had an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on April 18. Culture Awareness talks in schools Geshe Dorjee Damdul visited ten Tibetan schools at Shimla, Manali, Bhuntar, Chauntra, Suja, Dharamsala from April 23 to May 17 and spoke to students, staff and local Tibetan residents creating awareness on the importance of cultural preservation and understanding Buddhist philosophy.  The talks were received with keen interest by every one and Geshe Damdul responded to many queries from the audience. CST Chauntra's Sister School in New York In 2001, the Metropolitan Montessori School (MMS) in New York, USA had adopted Central School for Tibetans at Chauntra (under Sambhota Tibetan Schools Society) as its sister school and since has been assisting the school by raising funds and exchanging educational information..  The head of the school Mary Gaines has been very committed to further strengthen the program. The MMS schoolchildren have been regularly raising funds for contribution to the Chauntra school budget, in addition to donating clothing and stationeries.  Penpal correspondence between students is also being actively pursued. The Department of Education appreciates the initiative taken by Mary Gaines, her staff and students. Shimla School Introduces Jangshing Writing Last year, Department of Education has conducted various orientation courses for teachers. Traditional system of writing Tibetan calligraphy on Jangshing (wooden plank) was also introduced in the workshops for primary teachers to improve students' handwriting.  As per the report received, CST Shimla has already started introducing jangshing in the primary classes.  It is hoped that such efforts initiated in the schools will bring marked improvement in the students' handwriting. Tibetan Schools achieve 91% pass in Board Exams About 91% of students from Tibetan schools have passed the All India Senior School Certificate Examination (Class XII) conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education in March 2007. Out of 1051 students who appeared, 954 students were successful. The over all pass percentage is up by 0.20% from the last year. Seventy-seven students were placed under compartment to reappear in one subject. Among the 14 senior secondary schools, SOS TCV Bylakuppe and CST Paonta Sahib top the list with 100% pass percentage. Kelsang Choedon of CST Mundgod topped in Science stream with a score of 86.8%, while Sonam Topgyal of TCV Bylakuppe was the Commerce topper with 89.4% and Thinley Wangchuk of CST Mussoorie in the Humanities stream with 85.2%. The school wise Class XII result summary is given below:  School  Students Appeared  Pass%  Topper% TCV-SOS Bylakuppe 169 100 89.4 CST Paonta Sahib 41 100 74 TCV Gopalpur 181 99.45 84.6 CST Mundgod 122 99.18 86.8 CST Bylakuppe 35 91.43 81.6 TCV Dharamsala Cantt. 78 91.03 80.4 CST Dalhousie 39 89.74 69.8 CST Darjeeling 58 87.93 82.6 THF Mussoorie 88 87.50 79 CST Mussoorie 96 82.29 85.2 CST Kalimpong 28 78.57 80.8 CST Shimla 38 71.05 72.2 CST Herbertpur 42 66.67 84.4 TNMF Clementown 36 58.33 64.6                 In the All India Secondary School Examination (Class X), 85.29% passed as compared to 72.29% last year, an improvement of 13%. Of the 1496 students who appeared, 1276 passed and 205 students placed under compartment. Tsering Tenpa from CST Kollegal scored 100% marks in Mathematics subject. CST Chandragiri, CST Gurupura, TCV Selakui, CST Dholanji & CST Mundgod topped among 26 Tibetan schools with 100% results. TCV Selakui & STS Bhuntar appeared in the AISSE for the first time. The school-wise results of Class X is given below:  School  Students Appeared  Pass%  Topper% CST Chandragiri 26 100 74.6 CST Gurupura 24 100 80.4 TCV Selakui 43 100 86.6 CST Dholanji 20 100 85.2 CST Mundgod 57 100 84.6 CST Kalimpong 64 98.44 75.4 THF Mussoorie 82 97.56 72.4 CST Dalhousie 27 96.30 88.6 CST Kollegal 45 95.56 85 CST CVP Bylakuppe 37 94.59 79.6 CST Darjeeling 52 94.23 82.6 CST Sonada 31 93.55 75.8 TCV-SOS Bylakuppe 44 93.18 79 TCV-SOS Suja 152 90.79 86.4 CST Bylakuppe 42 90.48 78.8 TCV Dharamsala Cantt. 123 86.18 79.2 CST Shimla 64 85.94 81 TCV Gopalpur 55 85.45 71.6 TCV Lower Dharamsala 78 83.33 81.6 CST Mussoorie        64 81.25 78.4 CST Paonta Sahib 60 80 69.6 STS Bhuntar 24 79.17 70.8 CST Herbertpur 47 78.72 87.4 THF Rajpur 30 63.33 66.8 TCV-SOS Ladakh 169 57.99 79.2 TNMF Clementown 36 50 62.2 Nepal Schools Excel in Board Exam In the Nepal Class X Board Examination held this year, Namgyal Higher Secondary School, Kathmandu has achieved 100% result as compared to last year's 95.45%. The school has performed far better than the Nepal national pass average of 58%.  Of the 74 students appeared, 55 students got first division and the rest with second division.  Last year the school was ranked first for academic excellence in the Ten Best Schools in Nepal as per annual survey done by a Nepali Weekly. Srongtsen Bhrikuti High School at Kathmandu has again achieved 100% result in its Class X (SLC) board exam.  Out of 51 students who appeared, one student got distinction, 40 with first division and 10 got second division. Department of Education congratulates both the schools for their excellent performance in the board exam. Secretary visits schools in the East Education Secretary Ven. Karma Gelek Yuthok accompanied by Education Officer Tsering Phuntsok visited Tibetan schools at Sonada, Pokhriabong, Ravangla, Gangtok and Kalimpong from April 10-14. Heads of settlements/cluster communities, representatives of local organisations, residents, teachers and school children, warmly received them. During the visits Secretary inspected school facilities and interacted with the students, staff. He also spoke to the local Tibetan community members on the Basic Education Policy of Tibetans in Exile and responded to their queries. Pre-Primary Teacher training at EITE concludes Twenty-three Tibetan girls completed one-year pre-primary teacher training at Eklavya Institute of Teacher Education (EITE), Ahmedabad.  Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche was chief guest at the 9th convocation held at Ahmedabad Management Association auditorium on April 30 and gave away the diplomas to the successful trainees. He expressed appreciation on the efforts of Eklavya to improve the quality of primary teachers in India while staying true to one's own culture and tradition. He paid a visit to the Eklavya School and met with faculty members. Presently, the trainees are undergoing their second year training at TCV Montessori Centre, Dharamshala. Primary teacher training begins at Sarah As a part of the implementation of the Basic Education Policy, the Department of Education has started yet another teacher training course i.e. Two-Year Primary Teacher Training at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah, Dharamshala beginning July 2.  Education Kalon Thupten Lungrig was chief guest at the course inaugural function attended by Ven. Kalsang Damdul, Deputy Director of Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamshala; Ven. Jampal Dhakpa, Principal of the College for Higher Tibetan Studies; faculty members and Education Officers of the department. Seventeen graduate trainees will undergo the course and will complete in April 2009. All the students of CHTS also attended the function as it coincided with beginning of the new academic year. Guidance & Counselling Programmes On May 7, Counselor Mrs. Donkar Wangmo gave talk on How Parents Can Help their Children In Setting Goals besides creating awareness of among parents on scholarships offered by the Department of Education, at the Community Hall of Tibetan Welfare Office, Mcloed Ganj.  The talk was very well received by the parents. On June 4, the counselor gave a talk on different scholarships being offered to about 30 Tibetan college students undergoing one month Tibetan Language Course at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah. She also gave a talk on June 14 to about 50 Tibetan students studying in Indian colleges & universities participating in the Workshop held at Gangkyi Staff Mess, Dharamsala organized by the Delhi based Tibetan Parliamentary & Policy Research Center. The above talks were followed by question & answer session. East Zone Counselor, Ms. Chokeyi Lhamo is currently on school tour to provide Guidance & Counseling services to the students of STS Pokriabong, STS Gangtok, CST Ravangla, CST Kalimpong, CST Sonada & CST Darjeeling from June 24 to August 3, 2007. While in the schools, she will conduct classroom guidance sessions, individual counseling & group counseling to the students as well as meet with staff & parents of the students. SCHOOL FEATURE Central School for Tibetans, Miao Located at the Choephelling Tibetan Settlement, Miao in Changlang district in the northeast state of Arunachal Pradesh, CST Miao a day school is the largest middle level school administered by the Central Tibetan Schools Administration (CTSA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The school was first established in 1963 situated in the midst of lush green vegetation and beautiful surroundings, providing an excellent environment for learning. The school has an enrolment of 373 students at present. The medium of instruction in the school is Tibetan upto class V and English from class VI to VIII with English and Tibetan as main languages.  From class VI onwards Hindi is taught to the Tibetan children as 3rd language. At present 20 teaching staff and 4 non-teaching staff members are working in the school.  Mr. S. K. Singh is the School Headmaster since Aug 2003.                             The school has made a lot of progress during the period of late Dr. M.S.Verma, the former Director CTSA with regard to infrastructure and in other desired fields.  Today the school has well maintained computer lab with 09 computers, science lab, resource centre, music & dance room, library, sports room etc. In Common Annual Examination 2006 conducted by the CTSA, the school achieved 100% pass result in classes V and VIII alongwith good results in other classes. In the co-curricular activities, one of its students bagged first position in Tibetan poem recitation held at CST Kalimpong in the East Zone Tibetan Cultural Meet 2006. The school band party got the privilege to participate in the March Past with the contingents of Arunachal Battalion (ARBN), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and Assam Rifles on Republic Day function conducted by the local administration at Miao General Ground.  The Band Party was appreciated and awarded with a cash prize on the occasion for its wonderful performance.     The school is smoothly progressing towards its desired goal with close co-operation from the Parent Teacher Association, members of Local Advisory Committee, parents and consistent & dedicated efforts of staff members.   Project News 1. CST Dalhousie Solar Water Heating System: Dalhousie is a hill station with very cold climate in winter. The three solar water-heating systems installed in 1993 for the school children became non-operational over the years due to wear and tear. These were repaired and made operational with kind funding assistance from Tibet Freunde, Switzerland. We thank Tibet Freunde for their kind funding assistance. 2. New Photocopy Machine: The Tibetan Women's Organization in Switzerland generously provided financial assistance for purchase of a new photocopy machine for the Department of Education. The quality and high speed of the new machine has been of great help for the Department. We thank Tibetan women's organization of Switzerland for their generous support. 3. Capacity Building Workshop on Project Management: Additional Secretary Ngodup Dorjee, Assistant Project Officers Tenzin Losel & Pema Tashi and Under-Secretary Tenzin Choephel attended an advanced level of Project Cycle Management (PCM) and Logical Framework Approach (LFA) Workshop held at Chamunda near Dharamsala from May 15-18 organised by SOIR-IM. All the participants have gained planning skills based on PCM and LFA. 4. DOE Special Education Program under USHA Grant: DOE successfully implemented the 2006-2007 special education programs viz. providing scholarship for 30 students; 3-months computer training for 19 final year students of Tibetan Transit School; use of low-cost teaching aids training for 25 primary teachers; orientation course to 19 Tibetan language teachers; education and exposure trip for 55 final year students of Transit School; re-orientation training for 16 Heads of Sambhota schools; workshop on evaluation and assessment for 51 primary teachers of CTSA schools; and support for the needy students and primary teachers of Mevon Tsuglag Peton School were provided. We thank the Refugee Bureau (US Government) and Tibet Fund for the generous and continuous support. 5. Basic Education Policy Program: The BEP programmes for the FY 2006-2007 were successfully implemented, which includes three main components viz. capacity building for teacher development, curriculum and teaching learning materials development, and revision of pre-primary and primary teaching learning materials. We thank the Government of Denmark and CICED for their kind assistance and support. 6. Belgium Ministry Scholarship: With the kind financial support from the Belgium Foreign Ministry we have been able to provide scholarship to 8 deserving students to pursue Nursing course. We thank the Belgium Foreign Ministry for their generous support. 7. Gender Sensitization Workshop: DOE Counselor and two assistant project officers participated in the two days gender sensitization workshop provided by the Planning Commission, CTA to promote gender sensitivity during project planning and implementation. 8. Bir School Staff Quarter Construction:  Bir School has been facing shortage of staff quarters due to which teachers have to stay in rented accommodations in the nearby settlement. With the kind financial support of NCA, two staff quarters have been constructed. We thank NCA and SARD for their kind support. Scholarship News 1) The final selection of the US Tibetan Scholarship Program-2008 candidates concluded on April 20 at the Bureau of H.H. the Dalai Lama, New Delhi followed by orientation course in the same afternoon. Following is the list of selected students for 2008 under both the degree and non-degree programs: Two-Year Degree Program:                                               One-Year Non-Degree Program 1) Tenzin Paldon                                                                 1) Tsering Dorjee 2) Tsetan Dolker                                                                   2) Dawa Gyatso 3) Lhundup Dorjee                                                    3) Tashi Topgyal 4) Gyaltsen                                                                            4) Samten Phuntsok 5) Kunchok Dorjee                                                    5) Yeshi Wangmo 6) Tsering Dorjee                                                                 6) Tsetan 7) Tenzin Gelek                                                                     7) Tsering Paldon 8) Dolma Tsering                                                 8) Sonam Choephel 9) Passang Tsering                                                                 Two-day pre-departure orientation course for the 17 candidates selected last year was held at Dharamsala on June 26-27 prior to their departure to respective universities in the USA in August 2007. 2) The Scholarship Section of DoE administered entrance test for MBBS and Engineering reserve seats simultaneously at two centers -Delhi and Bangalore on April 4. A total of 95 students appeared for 3 MBBS seats while 31 students had appeared for 7 engineering seats. Ms. Kalsang Chodon from CST Mundgod was selected for MBBS reserve seat at Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi and Tenzin Lhanze Dingyon was selected for MBBS seat allotted by HP Govt. Regretfully, one medical seat from HP Govt. could not be utilized this year as a result of applicants not securing required percentage (50%) in the entrance test held at Shimla in May 2007. The seven engineering reserve seats were allocated to following students based on their performance in entrance test and also on meeting other eligibility criteria set by the Department. 1) Master Ngodup Tsering, CST Mussoorie (Computer Engineering) 2) Ms. Tenzin Dolma, TCV Dharamsala Cantt. (Computer Engineering) 3) Master Palchen Dorjee, THS Mussoorie (Electrical Engineering) 4) Master Lobsang Tsering, TCV Dharamsala Cantt. (Mechanical Engineering) 5) Master Nima Choephel, TCV Dharamsala Cantt. (Chemical Engineering) 6) Master Tenzin Norphel, CST Mundgod (Civil Engineering) 7) Master Tashi Chodak, CST Mussoorie (Civil Engineering) The scholarship committee of the Department of Education, CTA chaired by the Education Kalon, did the selection of students for DoE scholarships and CTSA reserve seats for the year 2007 from around 269 applicants, on June 18.

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