Children in Bhutan can only
when they attain six years old be enrolled in a regular government school.
Enrollment age policy is strictly implemented even at places where there are not
many children attending schools. This is
the case especially in the rural villages. It is shown that children learn fast
and pick up things quick in their formative years. But there are many private
individuals who run daycare centers in towns like Thimphu, Phuentsholing and
Paro whereas children in the remote areas have to idly wait until they attain
the minimum age requirement to enroll in schools for they do not have
facilities like their urban counterparts.
Ura community in Bumthang
District was going through a similar phase as so many communities in the rural
areas until Loden Foundation, a Charity NGO based in Thimphu decided to open a
Loden Early Learning Center at Ura in 2008.
“Our Daycare Center aims to
give children in the remote areas an equal opportunity like the children in the
urban centers,” says an official from Loden Foundation. “There are many daycare
centers and kindergartens in the cities, but no places for early child
development and learning in rural parts of Bhutan.
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| Chokey Gyeltshen with his friends |
Loden Foundation’s Early
Learning Daycare Center is located in the same building, which also houses READ
Bhutan’s Aurbay Sershong Payzothkhang (ASSP). “We collaborate with the Daycare
center for numerous activities,” says Kezang Choden, Program Officer of READ
Bhutan. “Because these children are the ultimate beneficiary of our center,
where they are provided with reading materials in our library, computers in ICT
Section, and Audiovisual Section, etc. And most important of all, most of our
program focus are towards childhood development, education and literacy, among
many others.”
Tshering Choden (6 years
old) and Chokey Gyeltshen (6 years old), are two of the many students who
benefitted from the Loden Early Learning Center and today they are admitted in
Ura Middle Secondary School in preprimary classes (PP). The students enjoy more
advantages for having had the chance to attend daycare center before they are
admitted in a regular school.
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| Tshering Choden in her classrooom |
According to the teachers at
Ura MSS, “Students coming from Daycare Center are well organized and mannered.
They tend to have good rapport with each other and teachers too.” Teachers also
feel that those children who come from Daycare are ahead of in terms of reading
and other basics compared to those who never went to daycare. Moreover,
“Students from Daycare are extrovert whereas their counterparts hesitate to
talk and take part in class activities.”
READ Bhutan would like to congratulate Tshering and Chokey, and all their friends who are doing quite well in regular school today. READ Bhutan feels proud to have been associated in their growth, maturity and development.
(Note: This piece was written for READ Bhutan monthly report and I had to post it here since my good friend - Japchu - thinks that I am totally betraying my blog. It pains my heart too. This is to apologize those who had to periodically open my blog only to find the same articles again and again. Sorry!)
Welcome back. I missed you so much but I am hopeful that you must have spent your absence on your blog fruitfully elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThanks PaSsu. Yes I was busy elsewhere. Of course I want to keep this blog going and always active. You keep blogging man - inspire so many others out there. Kadrinchela lopon.
DeleteJapchu is a very interesting personality, he will come and talk to you about you and inspire you so much without any reason. He is really an inspiring guy, someone very different.
ReplyDeleteYes he is a rare species. The reason I had to update my blog today. I feel guilty when he says that I am not updating my blog. "When are you going to update your blog," he would say regularly. And he is inspiring man I know. Thank you Japchu and thanks PaSsu!
DeleteYou can be a good reporter.
ReplyDeleteHaha... really? Thanks anon...maybe I should try then.
DeleteSir;
ReplyDeleteIt Seems Loden Foundation and READ Bhutan is doing a very impressive laudable job to nurture the citizens of country, particularly the children in the remote parts. Sir I would like to know if it will also spread across the entire part of the country? It would be very grateful if such centers also comes in the remote places like Shingkhar Lauri!
I am sorry if i seem bit judgmental here, it's just an opinion la.
My thinking is it should spread as far as it can and do as much it can to uplift our people in the villages and put them on equal footing with those in urban centers Tshewang Dorji. I can't speak for Loden (I am sure they will do that too) but for READ Bhutan, we would want to spread out wide and reach all nook and cranny in days to come. That's something that we wish all the time but for now we are doing our small part and will keep doing it for the benefit of our society at large. Nothing beats the satisfaction!
DeleteThank you for the kind information la; I would love to see that and contribute my own part as well.
Delete