Dharamshala: Months ahead of the expected re-opening of schools around India, the Kashag formulates safety guidelines to be implemented in all Tibetan schools to ensure best safety practices when the schools re-open.
Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay today said that as and when Tibetan schools re-open, academic sessions would resume only for class 10 and 12 students in view of the board exams and the remaining classes would continue via the DOE daily online course.
Sikyong was speaking at CTA Secretaries Emergency Committee meeting. Kalon Choekyong Wangchuk, Department of Health who is also the chair of the committee along with Secretaries of all the departments as well as of autonomous bodies, Dharamshala Welfare officer and other representatives attended the meeting.
Sikyong said the new guidelines would be formulated and accordingly executed in strict adherence to the guidelines of the HRD Ministry, by which the schools may re-open by July in a zone-wise manner starting from Green and Orange districts across the nation and with 30 percent attendance at a time.
Prioritising the health and safety of the students, CTA’s new guidelines for the schools would include among others strict distribution of students per class and revamped hostel protocols.
Education Secretary Karma Singey said the Education Department is also chalking out guidelines to facilitate class 12 students with pending board exams and to ensure their travel and hostel arrangements.
The DOE is convening an online meeting of the heads of three Tibetan school systems in India this Thursday to discuss the matter. A similar meeting with the senior management of Snow Lion Foundation (SLF) and school heads of the 9 Tibetan schools in Nepal was held on 21 May.
The Secretary also apprised that 924 students stranded in 19 Tibetan residential schools across India were provided relief money of 2000 each, totalling upto Rs 18,48,000.
From the first phase of lockdown, the Education department has been distributing relief support to needy, destitute students, 339 in total spending more than 13 lakh. DOE has also facilitated the safe return of over 93 Tibetan students stranded in Baroda.
Sikyong applauded DOE’s robust response and particularly, its proactive transition to online learning well ahead in the lockdown. He envisaged that the online resources made available by the DOE with the help of the expert teachers would continue to serve immense benefit for students and parents in the post lockdown period.
Discussing the status of CTA community quarantine centres, Sikyong and the health Kalon both affirmed that CTA has not only implemented the quarantine guidelines issued by the Central, State and District government but has taken a step further by ensuring mandatory quarantine and testing of every returnee to Dharamshala.
“The safety of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is our utmost concern. With this mind, we have put in place the most stringent guidelines for our community quarantine in Dharamshala. So far, it has proved to be one of the most effective models by which we have managed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the Tibetan community in Dharamshala. The CTA model has even received appreciation from the Deputy Commissioner of Kangra, who had referred it among the top-level officials in the state.
At present there are 45 Tibetans quarantined at the community quarantine centre at Nelenkhang, 25 at Sherab Gatsel Lobling and 18 at Shugsep community quarantine centre, as reported by Health Secretary Palden Dhondup.
In addition to monitoring the health of the persons in quarantine, the CTA COVID-19 health task force is also distributing Immune boosting SORIG medicines to mitigate the risk of infections.
601 Tibetans in quarantine, more than 283 Tibetan elderlies above the age of 65 and 1600 Tibetans in abroad have already been distributed the Immune boosters.
Beginning last Friday 8 May, the Department of Religion and Culture has been organising daily prayer services dedicated to the Tibetans who died from the coronavirus, those infected and their families at Nechung Monastery, Kirti Monastery, Namgyal Monastery.
In the following weeks, the prayer service will be held at Gaden Choeling Nunnery, Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Shugsep Nunnery, Gyuto Monastery, Dolma ling nunnery in weekly order.