Further to the success of the pilot school, Tong-Len is delighted to report that it has been registered by the state education department to offer education to children from grade 1 through to grade 8. The school opened its doors to students in April 2018 (SEE THE VIDEO HERE) with 167 attending classes from grade 1 to grade 7.
Although many of the students are resident in the Tong-Len hostels, more than 80 children are collected each day from the slum communities. For most, the Tong-Len school is their only chance of an education. In the Tong-Len school they receive food and care as well as an excellent holistic education.
Tong-Len plans to increase the number in the school to more than 200 in the coming months. We already have a preparation class for pre-school children and a grade 8 class will be incorporated in due course. The older hostel children in grades 8 and above continue to attend Dayanand Model High School in Dharamsala.
Prior to opening the school, the teachers that have been employed took part in an intensive 10-day programme of staff development, run by a team of five facilitators.
The school curriculum will embrace Tong-Len’s emphasis on holistic education and secular ethics.
Tong-Len continues to operate a tent school in the slums, primarily for the under-fives.
Please see the school’s web site at tong-len-school.org for more information.
