Sikkim students on a rural mission

OVER THE NEXT FORTNIGHT, STUDENTS UNION OF SIKKIM VOLUNTEERS WILL ‘GUIDE JUNIORS’ BY TAKING SPECIAL CLASSES AND HOLDING SPECIAL AWARENESS SESSIONS

GANGTOK, 10 Jan: Twenty volunteers from the Student’s Union of Sikkim [SUS] marched off to parts of rural Sikkim today carrying forward their unique initiative – “Guiding Juniors - Voluntarily Educating the Students by the Students”. This is a 15-day educational programme of the group undertaken in collaboration with the student’s wing of the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front.
SUS has adopted Taryang and Gor villages in Dzongu and Pathing, Dojak and Rankey in South Sikkim for the first phase of the programme. They plan to cover more villages in the second phase.
Addressing a press conference today, SUS president, Jiwan Subba, explained that this was a voluntary initiative of the students to extend academic assistance, environmental awareness and moral education to children and people of rural Sikkim.
He added that SUS volunteers will also be briefing the people and students on the scholarship programmes, schemes and programmes launched by the Chief Minister for the students of Sikkim.
“SUS wants to thank the CM for his productive and unique schemes, programmes and scholarships for the poor and underprivileged students of Sikkim and we want to take information on these schemes to the doorsteps of every student,” Mr Subba said.
He informed that although the focus of the SUS effort will be on students, the classes being taken by its members would be open for all interested persons to attend.
The 20 students have divided into four equal groups to cover the four villages of the first phase.
Khagendra Rai is the team leader for Gor-Taryang, Marina Rai will lead the group for Dojak, Jermit Lepcha for Rankey group and Samping Sherpa for Pathing group.
The SUS joint secretary, Marina Rai, informs that over the next fortnight, the volunteers will be offering tuition on various subjects, especially mathematics, holding workshops for extempore speaking to encourage children to express themselves with more confidence, and will also be conducting sports and other activities.
The effort, she said, is to build a more positive attitude among students and also to provide career counseling and awareness on capacity building programmes of the government to senior students.
The SDF student’s wing secretary, Kabita Subba, in turn, informed that the student’s wing has already made all arrangements for these classes by mobilizing the Panchayats and party workers of adopted areas.
SUS was formed recently [on 17 November, 2011] and has students from different government and private colleges and universities in Sikkim as members. Its expressed aim is to promote unity among students and make students more responsible towards the State, apart from addressing problems facing by the students.
The press conference was also addressed by SUS general secretary, Prem Dorjee Tamang, joint secretary, Khagendra Rai, coordinator, Jermit Lepcha, treasurer, Anand Biswakarma of SUS and SDF student’s wing convener [South], Arun Tamang.