Multi-grade teaching in Lingzhi

Extended Classrooms: Despite being deprived of special training to equip them with the right skills, teachers of schools and extended classrooms in Lingzhi dungkhag have taken up “multi-grade” teaching.  For now, they are doing just fine.

Led by its lone teacher, Tshering Dorji, Soe gewog’s extended classroom (ECR) comprises just one classroom with eight students.

Two students in pre-primary, one in first grade, three in class II and two more children, who are simply made to attend, although they have not come of age. 

Tshering Dorji, who had taken up the class right from day one, said the arrangement has helped bring education closer to students, although few students are required to walk for about 40 minutes.

But it is at least better than having to go all the way to schools in Lingzhi or Paro. 

“While teaching, on the same topic, I have to take different approaches suiting their standards,” he said, adding, for exams, papers are prepared at the parent school in Lingzhi, about a day’s walk from Soe. 

In the same way, the only teacher of Naro gewog’s ECR, Chimi Lham, also teaches 11 students of classes I and II together.  Its parent school is in Kabisa, Thimphu. 

Then there is Lingzhi primary school, with 57 students and five teachers, including the principal.  There are nine students in the pre-primary, 16 in class I, one in class II, 12 in class III, seven each in classes IV and V and five students in class VI. 

Except for classes PP and III, classes I and II are put together while classes IV, V and VI are also taught in the same classroom together. 

The school’s principal, Pem Dem, said none of the teachers are trained to handle multi-grade system.

“But we’re still managing,” she said. 

She said normally, each teaching period in schools last about 50 minutes but when  different classes are clubbed together, they could  hardly spare 20 minutes for each grade.

Owing to lack of separate classrooms, Pem Dem said, they also put up the teaching aids of different grades in the same classroom but on separate walls.  

Education minister Thakur S Powdyel said, ideally, there should be at least two teachers in an ECR or any other educational facility. 

“Even though our desire is to have two teachers in an ECR, there are limitations in terms of numbers,” he said.

There were about 953 ECRs in the country, which should, in principle, have around 2000 teachers. 

Admitting that not all those teachers could be trained to pursue multi-grade teaching, the general teachers would be required to take classes for different grades in the same room.

“It’s not a matter of choice but a matter of compulsion,” he said.

In terms of teacher to student ratio, it looked pretty comfortable in Lingzhi, when put against the national average ratio of 1:26. 

However, the education minister said, going by the subjects, it was not a desirable situation, since they needed different teachers for different subjects. 

“However, primary teachers are supposed to teach all the subjects because, at that level, all the teachers are trained to teach all the subjects up to class VI,” he said. 

Lingzhi also has non-formal teaching centres in Chebeysa and Gangyul chiwogs with an instructor each. Chebeysa has nine villagers attending the class, while Gangyul has four.

By Sonam Choden, Lingzhi