DEHRADUN: Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay today visited the Tibetan community at Dehradun and Rajpur on the first day of his visit to the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.
During the visit, the Sikyong addressed students and staff at Tibetan Homes Foundation at Rajpur and Ngoenga School for Tibetan Children with Special Needs, and met elderly people at the old age home at Rajpur. He also visited Sakya Monastery.
The Sikyong, who is also the Kalon for Education, encouraged the students to study hard, and nurture interest and aspiration to pursue studies in professional fields. He boosts the morale of the students, saying that students who excel in studies can win the prestigious scholarships offered by the Central Tibetan Administration. Ms Tenzin Chokyi of the Tibetan Homes Foundation Mussoorie, who topped this year’s class XII board exam with 95.4%, became the first recipient of the Sikyong scholarship. The CTA had announced performance-based scholarships for higher studies to encourage academic excellence in the Tibetan community.
The Sikyong also visited children and staff at Ngoenga School for Tibetan Children with Special Needs in Dehradun. The Department of Health started the school in 2000 as per the benevolent desire of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to establish a special school for Tibetan children with special needs. The school looks after children with multiple disabilities ranging from the age of 6-18 years old. Children are provided with normal school education with special attention given to each child to meet their educational, physical, psychological and medical needs. A curriculum of special education has been developed in accordance to the needs of children and students are grouped in classes according to their age and special needs. Most classes have academic lessons, including Tibetan, Mathematics and English. Practical activities viz. music, cookery, gardening, candle making, stitching and arts are also emphasised to develop skills and understanding concepts. Apart from this, the classes also focus on developing basic communication skills and activities of daily requirement. Physiotherapy segment has also been introduced for the children who require such services.
In his address to the general public, the Sikyong spoke on the policies, initiatives and future plans of the present Kashag on the whole aspect of the Tibetan issue.
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