September 8: Thousands of students go to schools in Bhutan. From the bustling cities to quiet hamlets, the journey to the learning centres can be anywhere from a short drive to hour long walks. Bara geog in Samtse has only one community school catering to children from 19 villages under the geog.

There the students have to walk for hours to reach the school. Some villages are about one to two days walk from the school and students from these villages have no choice but to build temporary huts in the school compound and live there.

With no boarding facilities, the students from far flung villages in Bara live in temporary huts. There are around 74 students staying in 24 huts. Since the children have to walk for hours to reach the school, parents build temporary sheds near the school. Parents have to forego their farm work to enable their children to get education.

Ap Tenda from Chungu village stays with his three children in one of the huts. He cooks food, collects firewood and does other domestic chores. On weekends, he goes to his village to help his wife in farm works. While he cooks dinner, in the other room his three sons are studying under the kerosene wicker lamp. Ap Tenda said he wants his children to have a good education and lead a better life.

Like Ap Tenda, most of the children have one of their parents living with them. In the past they had to cook all the three meals. However from this year, the World Food Programme (WFP) is providing breakfast and lunch to children living within walking distance of one hour.

Some of the children live alone in the hut. Hari Maya Gurung is one of them. She is 12 years old studying in fourth standard. She has a younger sister studying in class two. They are from Frenchi village, about two days walk from the school. They don’t have any guardian staying with them. Hari Maya said her parents are busy with the farm works and can visit her only on weekends.

Like Hari Maya, 9-year-old Bibita Gurung studying in class two has to look after her brother studying in pre primary.

The principal of the school, Tshering said that students staying in the hut perform well in studies. This he said is because they get guidance from the teachers after school and they don’t get exhausted from walking.

He said that students, who have to walk, get exhausted when they reach school. Bara community primary school was established in 1961, however due to security problems in ninties the school was closed down.

The school was re-opened in 2003. Currently the school has 372 students and 9 teachers including apprentice teachers.