September 30:Students of Dagor Community Primary School in Pemagatshel are coping up with several problems. But this is no excuse to keep them away from attending the school.

With assistance from the government the students enjoy two free meals a day and this, school authorities say, has encouraged more students to study.

Dagor community primary school in Shumar gewog in Pemagatshel is one of the most remote schools in the Dzongkhag. Established in 2002, it is located about a day’s walk from Pemagatshel proper.

As the school bell rings, the students get ready for the classes. The school has around 100 students, some of them from places as far as Waphey, Chongmashing, Chelamso, Degor, and Gumrung. These villages are about three hours walking distance.

The bell rings again and this time, it is for breakfast. The students queue outside the dining hall. The school provides breakfast and lunch. But the students have to manage dinner on their own.

As night falls, it is time to prepare dinner. Some of the students go and collect firewood while others fetch water. Most of these students live in huts in and around the school.

Their home is too far for them to walk back to after school hours. The school does not have hostel facilities. Five students live in this hut. Kezang Namgay is a class three student. The eldest is a class five student. She takes care of all the other children in the hut and takes care of the cooking and the cleaning.

Nidup Wangd is from Waphay village which is about three hours’ walk from the school. He is in class five. His parents visit him occasionally. The school allows the students to go to their villages to visit their parents once every week, an opportunity to replenish their ration stocks.

Some of the children have one of their parents living with them. The parents also take care of other children. These children are from Bainanwoong village which is about four hours’ walk from the school.

Chazen Dema, the mother of one of the children looks after the students. She says the parents from the same village have made an arrangement to attend to the children in the school on a rotation basis.

The school also does not have power supply. The students study and take care of their homework under kerosene lamps. The assistant principal of the school Ugyen Tsheing says the students get more time to study because they no longer have to prepare breakfast and lunch.

The free meals have also encouraged other students to join the school. For the students at the Dagor Community Primary, the pursuit of knowledge is the product of the collective efforts from their own side, their parents, the government and their teachers.

In the remote and bucolic setting of Dagor, these children learn not only the alphabets and numerals but vital life skills and values that will equip them to become productive citizens.