The second highlight I am laying down from His Majesty’s 114th National Day Address is quite seemingly forgotten but important in nation building.
“We know our country best. We are a compassionate and close-knit society. We hesitate from giving honest views or taking bold actions, which might risk offending, or displeasing others. As a result, the strength of our national character, exemplified by courage and determination of our forefathers, has weakened; complacency has set in, discipline has warned, and corruption is on the rise”.
I am zooming in on one small part of our fervid underlying issue that has been knowingly buried for long. Much like any other, our school too has many flaws in system, curriculum, human resources, and mis-match infrastructures to name a few.
I will be sharing my concern on just one flaw: “mis-match infrastructures”.
I am a product of Bhutanese education system. I know the best and the worst part of my school system. There are infinite issues that need national attention and fixing one-by-one.
It is more heartbreaking when the product of the same school doesn't bother to change the flaws when in a position to change them –as leader. They seem least bothered by the practical experience of a bad classroom, dorm rooms, MPH, toilets, roof leakage and water shortage as a student. The unending wars of these amenities have been going on for a century, yet we don’t care and find solutions to solve them.
Perhaps, my stay at the hostel has never been worth remembering. I had to bear the cold winter in the porous classroom walls, hide myself in broken toilet walls to relieve myself and sleep in hostel rooms with broken windows and doors. And even today, most of our school settings are in a similar fate.
Today, as I reflect upon the 114th National Address, I sincerely call upon everyone to look back and see the path we have taken. I plead with everyone to see our school, infrastructures like classroom, hostel, toilet and sporting field which are not up to the standard and sadly very much the same for all levels of schools –primary kids to upper secondary kids, which I feel should be different, which we have collectively failed in our school mission. Anyone can walk in and see “Building Staircase” for primary school kids is much the same or even higher than for high school kids.
As small as this planning, it costs the nation. Should we seek the opinion of our school going children, parents, public servants, bureaucrats of their dream school, the types of classroom design, hostel rooms and toilets, play field, etc, we are heading into a safe future. Otherwise, we shall continue to falter. We must be mindful of small parts of our big problems. I feel our planners and decision-making body can be a big game changer, but only if they look into small parts from a practical aspect. We need the best structures and facilities at our school first. Since, everything, the future begins here. As school churns out a majority of future citizens. What they see and feel becomes their lifeline and ethics for the rest of their life. Therefore, I beg the pardon of all our leaders to take ample time to plan our school very properly. Adequate location study, land topography, child ratio for the past 10 years must be thoroughly reviewed keeping in mind the future too, before copying and pasting the same old school maps. No "block building style, please!"
Nothing will change unless our school and classroom doesn’t change. Change must begin from a beautiful school building, classroom, hostel room, toilet, good sporting field rather than focusing only on "Office Making".
Like any office, our school, classrooms, hostels and toilets need national attention for its design and layout. School must serve as an example with aesthetic touch for learning and wholesome character building of a nation.
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