DEPARTMENTAL BRIEFS Tibetan schools do well in Board examinations Orientation Courses for Teachers on BEP Talk on Personality Development and Scourge of AIDS Yoga Teaching at Peton School Music and Dance Teachers Training Concludes CTSA Central Cultural Meet Held South Zone Counselor Visits Mangalore Colleges in South India SCHOOL FEATURE Sambhota Tibetan School, Pokhriabong PUBLICATION NEWS Publication News SCHOLARSHIP NEWS Scholarship News PROJECT NEWS Project News

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Tibetan schools do well in Board examinations Among the 1,050 students who appeared in the All India Senior School Certificate Examination (Class XII) conducted by the Central Board for Secondary Education in March this year, 951 students successfully passed the examination with overall pass percentage of 90.57%. Eighty two students were placed in compartment and will reappear in July/August. Of the 14 schools, four schools viz. Central School for Tibetans (CST) Kalimpong, CST Paonta Sahib, CST Herbertpur and TNMF Clementown achieved 100 % result. Tenzin Choedon of CST Bylakuppe topped the list among all the Tibetan students with 91.4% (Humanities); Tenzin Rangdol of CST Mundgod with 85% (Science) and Tsering Youdon of SOS TCV Bylakuppe with 80.8% (Commerce). The school-wise Class XII result summary is given below: CLASS XII: School Students Appeared Pass% School Position CST Kalimpong 28 100% 1 CST Paonta Sahib 22 100% 1 CST Herbertpur 24 100% 1 TNMF Clementown 35 100% 1 TCV Gopalpur 202 99.50% 2 CST Mundgod 132 96.97% 3 CST Bylakuppe 38 94.74% 4 TCV SOS Bylakuppe 194 90.21% 5 CST Darjeeling 50 90.00% 6 CST Dalhousie 34 88.24% 7 THF Mussoorie 85 87.06% 8 CST Mussoorie 100 85.00% 9 CST Shimla 28 78.57% 10 TCV Dharamsala Cantt. 78 58.97% 11 In this year’s Class X, All India Secondary School Examination conducted by the Central Board for Secondary Education, the overall pass percentage was 72.29, the best since last six years. Of the 1400 students who appeared in the exam, 1012 students passed. 375 students were placed under compartment and will reappear in July/August. CST Gurupura topped among the 24 schools which appeared for the examination, with 100% result, followed by CST Kalimpong (96.55), CST Darjeeling (95.83), TCV Lower Dharamsala (93.85). The school wise results of Class X is given below: CLASS X: School Students Appeared Pass % School Position CST Gurupura 27 100% 1 CST Kalimpong 58 96.55% 2 CST Darjeeling 48 95.83% 3 LTCV Dharamsala 65 93.85% 4 CST Chandragiri 16 93.75% 5 CST Sonada 24 87.50% 6 CST CVP Bylakuppe 38 86.84% 7 TCV Suja 95 84.21% 8 THF Mussoorie 67 80.60% 9 CST Kollegal 71 76.06% 10 TCV SOS Bylakuppe 77 75.32% 11 CST Mundgod 52 71.15% 12 CST Herbertpur 45 71.11% 13 CST Mussoorie 69 71.01% 14 TCV Dharamsala 117 70.94% 15 TCV Gopalpur 77 68.83% 16 CST Bylakuppe 50 68.00% 17 CST Shimla 83 63.86% 18 THF Rajpur 21 61.90% 19 CST Dholanji 34 61.76% 20 CST Dalhousie 32 59.38% 21 CST Paonta Sahib 70 58.57% 22 TNMF Clementown 38 55.26% 23 TCV Ladakh 126 40.48% 24 Orientation Courses for Teachers on BEP Department of Education(DOE), CTA has conducted two re-orientation courses for all the primary teachers and school heads working under Sambhota Tibetan Schools Administration (STSA). The courses were conducted to orient the teachers on the Basic Education Policy (BEP). The first batch was conducted from April 4-25 and the second batch from May 9-30 and a total of 52 participants attended the training. Tibetan and Indian resource persons were invited to speak on the education policy, traditional Tibetan education system, teacher-pupil relationship, inclusive education, skills for life, yoga etc. The participants were also taken on a tour of Mevon Tsuglag Peton School, the first BEP model school. Talk on Personality Development and Scourge of AIDS Major General R.S. Mehta, the Chief of Staff of Headquarters at Yol Cantonment delivered a lecture on Personality Development and Scourge of AIDS at the College of Higher Tibetan Studies (CHTS), Sarah on 23rd May 2006 organised by the Department of Education, CTA. The lecture was attended by the college students, teachers attending workshops at the college, along with Principal and staff of the college. The talk was organized by the Department of Education, CTA. Education Secretary Ven. Karma Gelek Yuthok and concerned officials also attended the lecture. Ven. Kalsang Damdul, Deputy Director of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics was present on the occasion. The General laid emphasis that 'knowledge is the only vaccine for AIDS'. He was accompanied by Col. V.V. Reddy and Col. N.P. Reddy. The lecture concluded with a question-answer session. Yoga Teaching at Peton School A two-day yoga and pranayam training was given to the children and staff of Mevon Tsuglag Peton School, Dharamsala by Dr. Ramu Manivannan, Reader at Madras University on May 16-17. Officials from DOE attended the training. Dr. Ramu also conducted yoga training to teachers undergoing orientation course at the College of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah. All expressed their full satisfaction and took serious interest in pranayam and yoga practice.   Music and Dance Teachers Training Concludes The music and dance teacher training (2 year) course being conducted at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, Dharamsala concluded on May 31. At the valedictory function, Education Secretary gave away diplomas to all 17 trainees who successfully completed the course. TIPA Director, course instructors and DOE education officers were present on the occasion. Besides regular course work in Tibetan music and dance, the trainees studied Tibetan language and literature, basic education policy, child psychology, lesson planning, paper setting etc. The training was possible through generous assistance provided by Royal Danish Embassy (DANIDA), New Delhi. CTSA Central Cultural Meet Held Central Tibetan Schools Administration (CTSA), Delhi organized Central Cultural Meet held at CST Darjeeling on May 4 &5. The winning schools from 3 zonal level competitions participated at the Central Meet. The overall championship was lifted by CST Kalimpong in senior category and CST Darjeeling in junior category. The competitions included group song and dance, duet, poetry recitation, one-act play, debate and declamation. Mr. S.C. Khuntia, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India/Chairman, CTSA was the chief guest. Education Secretary Ven. Karma Gelek Yuthok and CTSA Director Dr. M.S. Verma also attended as honoured guests. The dignitaries also visited CST Sonada and Sambhota Tibetan School at Pokriabong. CST Paonta Sahib & TNMF Clementown, which receive grant in-aid from CTSA also took part in the competitions. Earlier Additional Secretary Mr. Ngodup Dorjee was Chief Guest at the inaugural function of the North Zone Cultural Meet held at CST Herbertpur on April 29-30. South Zone Counselor Visits Mangalore Colleges in South India Counselor Jamyang Wangyal (South Zone) visited Mangalore Nursing Colleges and interacted with over 200 Tibetan students studying Nursing, BCA, BBM, BA, B.COM, Hotel Management etc. at various local institutes. The visit programme was co-ordinated by the Tibetan Students Association, Mangalore. This was his first visit to colleges and universities after the opening of South Zone Guidance & Counseling Cell at Mundgod. Sambhota Tibetan School, Pokhriabong Sambhota Tibetan School Pokhriabong is a primary school with residential facilities situated in Darjeeling district in the State of West Bengal. Located 32 kilometres distance from Darjeeling town, the school is situated in scenic surroundings amidst hills and tea gardens at an altitude of 1750 meters above sea level. The nearest railway head is New Jalpaiguri, which is about 100 kilometers away from school. The school was established on April 15, 1981 with 50 children and has a total land area of about 4 acres. The temperature in the summer normally remains at an average of 26-28 degrees Celsius and in the winter it falls down to an average of 10 degrees. Just like all other primary schools under the umbrella of Sambhota Tibetan Schools Administration, the school follows a similar curriculum. The Montessori classes are always given primary attention. They normally learn very basic and appropriate skills like talking, singing, dancing, social behavior, sketching on blank paper etc. In addition, children are regularly taken out into woods for nature-walk. From the academic point of view, the children learn elementary skills of reading and writing Tibetan scripts, numericals in English as well as in Tibetan. Most of the learning is done through play-way method where children are exposed to as many learning aids as possible. At Classes I to V five main subjects viz. Tibetan, English, Maths, Social Science and General Science are taught. In addition, they learn games, sports, dance, drama, drawing and social skills. Co-curricular activities are given as much importance as is given to academic studies. There are three houses – Lhasa, Potala and Norling. Inter-house and inter-class competitions in spelling-bee, handwriting, poetry, quiz, reading, essay writing and so on are organized as per annual school calendar. Since the school has both flower and vegetable gardens, children interested in learning gardening skills have plenty of opportunity to learn these skills in the school campus. The school has five blocks that houses most of its basic infrastructure. The oldest building, which was constructed some 24 years ago, houses office space, library, staff room, dispensary, multipurpose hall, canteen, school temple and two storage rooms. The multipurpose hall has the capacity to accommodate 500 people. Another old school building have classrooms for montessori to Class V, dormitory for boys, a trunk house, and a construction materials storeroom. A new building completed in 2003 houses school’s main kitchen, dinning hall which can accomodate at least 250 children, two large dormitories for girls with attached toilet and bathrooms, a guest house, two stores for ration and two staff quarter. Her Excellency the Ambassador of Austria inaugurated this building in March 2003. The school has a spacious football ground, a basketball court, pavilion with a seating capacity of 400 spectators and a large children’s park. The annual examination result for the year 2005 was 85%. The children after completing their Class V from the school are sent to CST Kalimpong to continue their studies. The school has consistently bagged top three positions since last four years in the Inter-school Tibetan Handwriting competition organized annually by the Manjushree Institute of Tibetan Studies, Darjeeling. Currently, there are 108 students and 19 staff. Mr. Kelsang Dawa is the headmaster of the school. Project News Visit by SOIR-IM delegation: SOIR-IM delegation consisting of Area Director Mr. Wangchuk Gyalpo, Project Officer Guru Nyima; SOIR-IM, Sweden Project Organizer Mr. Janusz Lipinski and Consultant Ms. Christine Wamsler visited Dharamsala from May 10-12 to discuss the evaluation report of the Land Program 2002-2005 and the project management and monitoring of Land program (2006-08) with Project Officers of Home, Education and Health departments, CTA. Later DoE made a presentation on the project implementation and monitoring plan and concluded by signing of project agreement. We take this opportunity to thank SOIR-IM and Swedish Mission Council for their continuous support and association. SOIR-IM Projects Completed: (i) Shillong Staff Quarter Construction: Much needed quarters for staff members of STS Shillong has been finally realized with kind funds from SOIR-IM. We have been able to construct 11 single quarters, 4 family quarters, 2 guest rooms, and a common kitchen. (ii) Wire- meshing of Mundgod Hostel and Play Materials: Upon request from the Settlement Officer and the school Rector, wire mesh on the doors and windows of the boys and girls hostel of CST Mundgod has been successfully installed to protect against mosquito' menace. In addition, different types of play materials viz. toys and floor mattresses were provided to 110 primary children studying in 5 camps at the settlement. (iii) Tally Workshop: In collaboration with STSA head office we have conducted 5-day Tally software workshop at CST Chauntra to all the accountants of STSA schools, settlement office and TCV Chauntra. The workshop was a great success and fulfilled the long expectations of STSA office. Almost all the STSA schools are now installed with tally software and currently being used. (iv) Renovation of CST Darjeeling Basketball Court: The much required renovation of school basketball court along with repair of staircases, drainage, hostel flooring, doors and windows and school shrine were completed in 2006 with financial support from SOIR-IM. School children are now enjoying playing basket ball in newly renovated ground. We thank SOIR_IM for their kind financial support. Project Monitoring Visit to Srinagar School:- Mr. Tenzin Losay, Assistant Project Officer, visited Tibetan Public School, Srinagar from May 2-5, to monitor and inspect 1st and 2nd phase classroom construction projects funded by DOE, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India and Tibet Relief Fund, UK. During the visit he interacted with executive members of the Tibetan Muslim Youth Federation and the School Principal and discussed project and academic related matters. The second project phase viz. construction of Lower Primary Department (LPD) building is on the verge of completion. We thank all donors for their kind support. History of Chamdo: A rare kind of book titled History of Chamdo (Volume-1) authored by Ven. Lobsang Sherap has been successfully published with funds from AET France. Over 500 copies were printed and distributed to all schools, CTA departments, educational centers and libraries. We thank both the donor and the author for their contribution. Judicial Training: Two law graduate staff members Ms Namgyal Tsekey and Mr. Passang Norbu of Supreme Justice Commission, CTA had undergone a six-month legal training under the law offices of Mr. Jai Mangaram Mukhi, Barrister at Law and Advocate, Supreme Court of India. They were trained on legal research, preparation of study assignments, conference with clients, and preparation for and appearances in various courts, tribunals etc. We hoped that they received good experience and training. The training comes under USHA grant programmes. We thank the government of the United States for their support. Business Workshop at Transit School: Five day general business management training has been given to the final year students of Sherab Gatsel Lobling School by Mr. Sonam Dorjee and Mr. Choesang Tendar of CTA Department of Finance and Mr. Tenzin Tsultrim of CTA Information Department. The training has helped the students in understanding basic business management and skills. The training was part of the USHA grant programmes. Renovation of Hostel at Orissa: Renovation of boys and girls hostel at Phuntsokling Tibetan settlement, Chandragiri in Orissa State was completed in May 2006. It was felt necessary as it was in a state of disrepair and needed major renovation. The project was successfully implemented by settlement officer and we are thankful to the Tibet Freunde, Switzerland for financing this project. Pre- Primary Teachers Training Workshop: The implementation of BEP programme has been successfully kicked off with conducting intensive pilot workshop for 66 pre-primary teachers from 48 schools from 15 March to 1 April 2006 in 2 batches. In addition to receiving orientation on the basic education policy, the workshop covered Montessori system of learning, early child care and on the role of teacher. The training was sponsored by NCA Norway through SARD. Publications A bi-lingual book on 'Basic Education Policy for Tibetans in Exile' has been published and distributed to all schools and settlements.The Assembly of Tibetan Peoples Deputies passed the policy in September 2004 and is being implemented gradually. Scholarship News A scholarship for three-year training course in agriculture in Japan has been granted by OSICA, Japan through the Liaison Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tokyo. As per the HLSC Rules & Regulations for selection of candidates, Ms. Nima Bhuti, a Tibetan refugee from Bhutan, was selected among four eligible applicants. She is expected to leave in August 2006 to undertake the training course. Through the office of Religious Foundation of H.H the Dalai Lama, Taiwan, two scholarships has been received to study China's socio-economic and political conditions in Chinese medium at the National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan. With the approval from HLSC, applications of three short-listed applicants were sent directly to Taiwan for final selection. With the approval from HLSC, applications of six eligible short-listed applicants for the University of Wyoming Scholarship were sent directly to the university for final selection of a candidate. As per the HLSC guidelines, Ms. Tenzin Dhardon Sharling was selected for the Sir Tom Farmer's scholarship received through the Office of Tibet, U.K. to pursue a master programmee in counseling studies at the University of Edinburg, Scotland. She is expected to leave this September for her studies. With the approval from the High Level Scholarship Committee of Central Tibetan Administration (HLSC), the Department of Education made the final selection of the Tibetan Scholarship Program-2007 at New Delhi from April 7 to April 14, 2006. For this year's final selection, HLSC representative Ven. Karma Gelek Yuthok, DoE Secretary and Mr. Tenzing Choephel, TSP Co-ordinator, The Tibet Fund, New York observed the interview proceedings. On April 14, Mr. Tenzing Choephel gave orientation course to the selected and alternate candidates at the Bureau of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, New Delhi. The selected students will leave for the US in the month of August 2007. The list of TSP selected students and their courses are given below: DEGREE CATEGORY - 2 YEARS STUDY Sl. No. Name of the Student Course 1 Ms Tsering Tsomo Mass Communication 2 Mr. Tenzin Ngodup Public Administration (Education) 3 Tenzin Kunsang Special Need Education 4 Tenzin Choekyi Counseling 5 Sonam Dekyi School Counseling 6 Buchung Mass Communication 7 Dhondup Dolma Rural Development 8 Lobsang Sherab Human Resource Development NON-DEGREE CATEGORY - 1 YEAR STUDY Sl. No. Name of the Student Course 1 Mr. Namgyal Norbu Auditing 2 Mr. Tenzin Yeshi Educational Administration 3 Mr. Yeshi Dhargye Co-operative Management 4 Ms Tsering Yangkyi Inter Religious Studies 5 Mr. Tsering Choephel Unemployment Counseling 6 Mr. Dhondup Tsering Sinology 7 Mr. Lobsang Dhondup Special Education 8 Mr. Lobsang Monlam School Curriculum 9 Mr. Norbu Tenzin Security and Intelligence Studies   CORRIGENDUM In Spring 2006 Issue of Sherig News we have inadvertently missed to mention the name of the sponsor Pestalozzi International Village Trust, UK for the scholarships offered by them to Tibetan students at Hasting College, UK. The omission is regretted.

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