Dharamshala, 15th September: Himachal urban development minister Suresh Bhardwaj has written a letter to BJP national president J P Nadda, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Union sports minister Anurag Singh in response to local opposition to the Union ministry of human resource development’s decision to hand over a school in Shimla to the Central Tibetan Administration’s ‘Sambhota Tibetan Schools Society (STSS)’. Bhardwaj further suggested that these schools be converted into Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) in order to protect the future of Indian kids.
In 2013, he claimed, a decision was made to hand over all Central Tibetan Schools to the Dharamsala-based Sambhota Tibetan Schools Society. He claims that the number of Tibetan students enrolled in these schools is insignificant when compared to the number of Indian students.
“Moreover, Tibetans are running their own administered schools in the areas where they can accommodate their students,” Bhardwaj said, “whereas the Indian students have no other option but to drop out from the schools if these schools are handed over to the Tibetan NGO,”.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering’s ongoing process of collecting CST
From September 6 to 14, Sikyong Penpa Tsering paid a formal visit to the CTSA schools in Shimla, Herbertpur, Mussoorie, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong. On 8th september, Sikyong Penpa Tsering paid a visit to the CST School in Herbertpur as part of his ongoing visit to the five Central Tibetan School Administrations (CTSA) that have yet to be transferred to the education department’s Sambhota Tibetan School Society (STSS).
Sikyong said he has gone through all of the background papers linked to when the CTSA schools first began transitioning in 2013, since taking office over three months ago. Sikyong emphasised the critical need for the transition after analysing the situation of Tibetan schools, particularly those under the CTSA. He stated that the purpose of his visit was to assess the current situation of the five remaining CTSA schools as well as to meet with the concerned employees to learn about their viewpoints and suggestions.
Sikyong also announced that he will meet with CTSA officials and the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Education in Delhi to discuss the procedures for the transfer of six schools, including CST Mussoorie, CST Shimla, CST Dalhousie, CST Kalimpong, CST Darjeeling, and CST Herbertpur, in the coming weeks. The decision to transfer these schools was hailed as a positive step by the Instruction Secretary, who added that aside from a change in administration, the schools’ quality of education would not be jeopardised.