The School

"Give a child a rupee and he eats for a day. Give him an education and he eats for life."

The school teaches children from aged 4, at Kindergarten level, to aged 18 at Secondary level class X. Eight subjects are taught: English, Maths, Science, Nepali, Social Studies, Health, General Knowledge, Moral Science and, as a ninth optional extra, Tibetan and Buddhist concepts.

The importance of compassion, the appreciation of love and peace and the preservation of one’s own heritage and language and culture is also emphasized.

It is hoped to further upgrade this to Higher Secondary level X1 and X11. Until we are able to introduce this plan we have made alternative arrangements to send students to a secondary school who cater for higher levels.

Their school fees are sometimes covered under the sponsorship scheme, but in some cases the Buddha Academy is paying for them from its limited scholarship fund. These students still live in our school hostel, and will be allowed to do so until they finish their studies.

We are proud that more and more children achieve excellent results academically and of the 5th group to graduate at Grade 10 Secondary Board in 2006 all 23 passed their exams in the First Division (top grade). Out of 340.000 children who sat the exam in the country only 48% passed.

Several children go on to continue Classes X1 and X11, and some have even continued on to either University or other training. The less academically able are given vocational training. This includes carpentry, electronics and tailoring. It is hoped to add motor mechanics, TV and radio repairs, plumbing and hairdressing in the future.

There are numerous success stories of both boys and girls either working as carpenters in good furniture factories or working and keeping their families with their tailoring work. Vocational training is also offered as an optional extra to the academic students as is computer training.

The school offers, and encourages, a wide range of extra curricular activities such as outdoor and indoor sports, music and singing, traditional dancing and martial arts.

There is also a ‘special class’ for those children joining late and needing intensive coaching to catch up with the rest of their class. Agricultural practice and animal husbandry are taught to students on a piece of land we have acquired some 15 minutes from the school. We grow our own rice, corn, a variety of seasonable vegetables and fruit trees. We also have a Jersey cow that has successfully given birth to a calf. The milk is used exclusively for the sick and undernourished children of the school.

There are 74 staff of which 30 are teachers. The rest include Administrative Personnel, a Librarian, Foster Mothers, Cooks and Kitchen Helpers, Security Guards, Cleaners, etc.