Sikkim students flee Himachal Institute, reach New Delhi

GANGTOK, 13 Dec: According to reports, the group of Sikkim students till now at the Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions, Himachal Pradesh, is now in New Delhi. Despite assurances of security and followup on their complaints, the group decided to flee Kala Amb where they were studying.
They reached New Delhi on 12 December after having decided to part ways with the institute where they were studying till a few days ago. There are around 46 students, it is reported. A bus was hired from Nahan to Dehradoon which they reached at 1:30 a.m. and from there they boarded another bus for Delhi.
All the way they were provided with an escort by the Himachal Pradesh police.
The students have thanked the HP police for their support; in fact it is reported that the police kept inquiring after their safety till they reached New Delhi. At present, they are at Sikkim House. They have also been in contact with Sikkim’s Member of Parliament, Hissey Lachungpa and have recorded their gratefulness on being allowed to stay at the Sikkim House.
The group of students is short on funds, which is another issue for them, it is informed.
However leaving the college was not all that easy; in fact they had been wanting to leave the college but were not allowed by the management it is alleged. Finally they had to submit an affidavit to the college in order to be permitted to leave the premises. They are now looking forward to get admission or migrate to other colleges.
Most of the students were enrolled at the Kala Amb institute on government scholarship, it is informed, and are now still looking forward to the state government to assist them in their ‘migration’. A few days ago the State government had also deputed Social Justice Deptt Secretary, G Upadhyay to take stock of the situation and the concerns of the students; the Secretary had gone to the institute and also interacted with the students.
The Sikkim students thought it fit to leave the HGPI at Kala Amb, Himachal Pradesh after trouble brewed with a group of Haryana students and they received threats. Kala Amb is a border town with Haryana.

Social Welfare Secy to visit Sikkim students in Himachal; situation resolved assures local admn

GANGTOK, 08 Dec: Secretary, Social Justice Department, GC Upadhyay, will be visiting Sikkim student studying at the Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Monday. This comes after he was deputed by the State government to look into the cries of insecurity voiced by the Sikkim students at the institute.
Mr. Upadhyay, who flew for New Delhi today, informed NOW! that since he was on his way to Delhi he would also visit the institute and spend time with and talk with the Sikkim students at the institute as well as the authorities there.
Meanwhile it is also informed that the local Sirmaur district administration has assured the Sikkim government that the situation is now resolved and peaceful. This, after a clash erupted between a group of Haryana students and Sikkim students some days back.
There are a total of 71 Sikkim students at the Himalayan Group of Professional Institutes, 69 of whom joined after they were provided scholarships by the state government to pursue higher studies. The institute, which is located at Kala Amb, is a prestigious one and offers courses in MBA, technical and other post matriculation courses, it is informed.
The initial fracas broke out some days ago between two groups of students and it is likely that tension between the two groups had been simmering for some time now. Students from Sikkim allege that they are derided and stigmatized, particularly the girl students. The immediate cause of the violence seems to be the attempt of some Haryana based students to get one of the Sikkim students with long hair to get it cut. Threats are also alleged to have been issued to the Sikkim students.
It is also alleged that the administration of the institution has not been very supportive of the Sikkim students; in fact when contacted they tried to play down the issue saying that it was a minor one which had been resolved and there was nothing further. However, students from Sikkim continue to send out appeals for security.
Mr. Upadhayay informed that he had spoken to the Director and Chairman of the institute, who in turn assured that there was nothing to worry about and that the earlier tension had been sorted out.
After the news spread, the local DC and SP were contacted by the state government including the Chief Secretary and the DGP; following this both officials are informed to have visited the institute and interacted with the students.
As conveyed by Mr. Upadhyaya the local officials have informed that there is nothing to worry about and that they would ensure full security for the students there.
This morning too there was communication between the two state administrations on the matter and all contact details of officials of Sikkim have been forwarded to the students. It has been assured that the situation as of now is resolved.

Sikkim students treat Chandigarh to celebration of Sikkimese culture

GANGTOK, 23 Oct: Students of Sikkim organized ‘Sikkim fest’ at ITFT [Institute of Technology and Future Management Trends] College Chandigarh on 22 October on the theme “Identity lies within culture” to showcase the varied culture, tradition and to promote Sikkim tourism.
Minister of Forest, Himachal Pradesh, Thakur Bharmur Singh was the chief guest and Executive Director of ITFT, College Dr. Gulshan Sharma was the special guest of the festival.
As per a press release, the main attraction of the programme was the stall showcasing different traditional food items, ornaments and equipments of the different communities of Sikkim. Students also gave presentations on the different pilgrimage destinations in the state.
Earlier, the programme began with the song ‘Jahan bagcha Teesta Rangeet’ and a cultural show wherein the students performed wearing full traditional attire.
The chief guest Thakur Bharmur Singh appreciated the programme while Executive Director of ITFT College, Dr. Gulshan Sharma congratulated the students for their hard work and effort to promote the culture and tradition of their state.
The Sikkim Fest 2013 was an initiative taken up by the students of Sikkim studying in that ITFT college Chandigarh and it was supported by the Chief Minister of Sikkim both financially and morally.
“On behalf of the student community, we the students of Chandigarh would like to thank our honorable Chief Minister for his encouragement and being a paternal figure for us. Such support from him shows his concern and love for students”, the release mentions. The students also acknowledged Kavita Subba of the student cell of the Sikkim Democratic Front for the guidance and support extended.

Connecting Champions – Sikkim students on exchange program to Gujarat

GANGTOK, 08 Oct:  In an effort to assist students from various schools across Sikkim to become smarter and confident through the process of cultural exchange programs, a ten-day students’ exchange program ‘Connecting Champions’ is being conducted by 24hours Inspired during the month of December 2013.
A press release informs that students in the age group between 12-16 years are encouraged to be part of the program.
Speaking about the program, Dewaker Basnet [Chief Learning Officer 24hours Inspired] says, “One of the vital aspects for the overall growth of a child is providing him/her the right exposure so that he/she becomes well equipped for life. One of the important elements of exposure is the process of physically connecting students of a particular geography with the students of another geographical space so that they learn from each other. These physical engagements also go a long way in inspiring these young ones to connect with each other and look at their lives from a broader perspective. ‘Connecting Champions’ endeavors to provide a platform for students to learn and grow through the process of cultural and intellectual exchanges between the youngsters of both the regions. This is our second year of the exchange program. In the first year of the program, we had taken a group of 15 students to Kerala for a 10-day intervention and the positive transformation of the students has been appreciated by the school and the parents”.
Connecting Champions hopes to be a great leveler in terms of culturally and intellectually exposing children of the state to mainstream India and improve with the passage of time, the release adds.
Interested schools/parents can contact the program co-ordinators at 800-134-0022, 787-288-0086, 03592-280333

CM begins state-wide tour of schools from Ravangla

ADDRESSES GATHERING OF STUDENTS AT VC GANJU LAMA SR SEC SCHOOL
NAMCHI, 25 July: “The future of Sikkim lies in the hands of our students” said the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling as he exhorted students to lead the state towards development at VC Ganju Lama Senior Secondary School, Ravangla in South district today.
With this, the Chief Minister has begun the state-wide tour of schools as announced on the occasion of Bhanu Jayanti on 13 July. Addressing the gathering of students from in-and-around Ravangla, the CM urged them to achieve their full potential stressing that “imagination is more important than knowledge”.
“Our government wants each and every son and daughter of Sikkim studying in government schools to compete with the students studying in the best public schools”, said the CM. He urged the students to change their mindset from seeking certificate based education to knowledge based education.
Mentioning that Sikkim’s literacy rate is 82.2% the CM said that the government aims at taking this up to 100%. The development brought about till now should continue said the CM and added that those seeking to destroy the peace and security of the state should not be allowed to do so.
“The government’s biggest challenge in Sikkim right now is that our people have lost the will to work and we have to destroy this mindset with the wisdom of education”, expressed the CM. He also said that teachers in the state lack passion and serve only as government employees. On this, the CM urged the teachers to draw inspiration from Lord Brahma, a creator and a teacher, to immerse themselves in helping their students explore their full potential.
The Chief Minister also assured to fulfil all the demands placed by the schools and the general public of Ravangla.
The programme was also addressed by Minister HRDD, NK Pradhan and Secretary HRDD, CS Rao while it was also attended by the Ministers, MLAs, Zilla Panchayats and Officers.
A colorful cultural programme was also organised by the students where the Chief Minister awarded Rs 15,000 each to the schools for their beautiful performances. Earlier the CM was also felicitated by the VC Ganju Lama Senior Secondary School.

2 Sikkim students killed in Tamil Nadu road mishap

NAMCHI, 18 March: A road mishap on the Pollachi-Coimbatore highway in Kerala last week has claimed the lives of two teenaged students from Sikkim pursuing engineering at Pollachi Polytechnic College, Coimbatore.
The two, 18-year-old Ashik Gurung and 16-year-old Mini Hang Subba, were on their way to Coimbatore, on 12 March when their motorcycle was hit by a speeding bus on the Pollachi-Coimbatore highway at around 5:30 in the evening.
While Ashik, who hails from Chuba Perbing, Namthang in South Sikkim, was a final year student of Civil Engineering, Mini Hang from Sichey, Gangtok, was a first year student of Electrical Engineering.
Police officials at Pollachi have confirmed that the bus was at fault in this case and that the driver has been taken into custody and the bus seized. The accident left both the students in critical condition and they were rushed to a nearby hospital. Ashik Gurung however succumbed to his injuries the same night at around 10:30 p.m. which his friend, Mini Hang, who was driving the bike at the time of the accident, slipped into a coma. Unfortunately, even he did not recover from his injuries and passed away after three days on 15 March.