Gyalten Rinpoche Private School

Ganzi County's Gyalten Private School Information
and REQUEST FOR SUPPORT

To all leaders, ladies and gentlemen, I will now report on all the basic information and work-related information of my school ever since it is founded. Please feel free to give me any suggestions and corrections.

Gyalten Private School was approved by the Ganzi County People's Government in September 1994, with the issue of the Ganzi County's 1994 Number 7 certificate. Ganzi County's National Assembly's director, well-known religious leader Gyalten Lobsang Shampa Rinpoche founded the all-day private free-of-charge school.

Gyalten Lobsang Shampa Rinpoche is the principal of the school. He pays for all the expenses of the school. He hired a retired teacher with more than twenty years of teaching and administrative experiences to be the vice principal, to take care of everyday matters of the school.

Gyalten Private School officially opened on October 1, 1994. Under the circumstances then, the plan was to open two classes only, mainly to enroll agricultural and husbandry school-age children and handicapped teenagers, orphans, children from very poor families, from the four villages in Rongbeifen area and the nearby Gonglong village of the Shengkang area. The school emphasizes equal opportunity for both genders. That year's plan was to enroll 80 students. But under the constant requests of many parents, the actual enrollment was 138 students, 87 being boys and the other 51 being girls. Three classes were established, and six teachers and one cook were hired. Subjects taught in school included Tibetan language, Chinese language, Tibetan mathematics, drawing, moral education, sports, etc.

Gyalten Rinpoche's school maintains Tibetan traditions by organizing a student music and dance troupe. The kids borrow costumes from friends and relatives to put on a crack performance of Tibetan music, dance, and sports. Tour group leaders can arrange for a special performance by contacting the school at least two weeks ahead of time. In Kangding, telephone Gyalten Rinpoche at (0836) 283-4162.

In September of 1995, the school started a new class, increasing the total classes to four, with 197 students (132 males, 65 females) altogether. All the students are from agricultural and husbandry families. There were 6 handicapped students, 4 orphans, 46 students from single- parent families. Eight teachers were hired. The school also sent a student to Southwest Nationalities University to study astronomy, and one other student (an orphan) to Chengdu Bei County DachangJin(Buddhist script) Comparative Department to study computer science.

In September of 1996, the number of classes in the school further increased to five, with 204 students altogether. Three of the five classes are one each in grade one to three, classes at these three levels included Tibetan language, Chinese language, English language, drawing, Tibetan calligraphy, etc. The other two classes were classified according to the students' age into two career classes, the first being in the area of medicine, subjects taught include Tibetan, English, the four classical volumes of medicine, Tibetan calligraphy, etc. This class also includes a session in tailoring. The second career class is in the area of Tibetan arts, subjects taught include Tibetan language, Chinese language, Tibetan drawing, sculpture, etc.

To alleviate the difficulties in hiring teachers, in October 1996, the school sent four students(two males, two females) with better academic results to Tibet to study, paying for all their expenses. They are to come back to the school to teach upon graduation.

In September 1997, a new class was added, making the total number of classes to six and the total number of students 259 (154 males, 105 females, 6 orphans, 4 handicapped, 53 with single parent, and 95 from very poor families).

There are 14 teachers in the whole school, 3 having high school professional certificate, 6 with substantial teaching experiences, 2 hired from Lhasa, 3 with higher professional degree, and 4 school janitors.

To increase the income of the school and to improve students' lives, the school founded a self-assistance sales department, organizing all the staff and students of the school to grow barley and potatoes. The school also purchased three milk cows to provide the students with butter tea.

The students pay no fees towards their education. The textbooks needed for the whole year, exercise books, pencils, tea and snacks, firewood, etc., are all provided free of charge.

Ever since it was founded, the school has always rented the classrooms for teaching. In 1995, with the great concern and support of the local community, the school finally acquired its own school buildings in Laduose of the Ronbeifen area. There are now two classroom buildings, with a total of 8 classrooms. An office building, two teachers' hostels, two students' hostels were also completed.

Ganzi County is located in the northwest side of Sichuan Province, and is considered by Sichuan Province as a very poor county that needs to be heavily subsidized. Its population consists of old and young generation, minority, and very poor families. Due to poverty, a majority of the agricultural and husbandry families cannot afford to send the kids to school or pay for their education, or to even think about the children's future. Though some children were sent to schools, most never realize the advantages of education or knowing why they are so poor. They do not understand the importance and necessity of learning. Most are worried about their immediate needs and never plan for the future. Many school age children stay home to do housework, to herd cows and horses, taking care of their younger siblings and looking after the house. Thus most children never have a chance to attend school, and for the few who do, many drop out due to poverty.

To ensure that these children can receive an education, and to gradually eliminate the illiteracy of the homeland, to develop Tibetan education, to cultivate an educated next generation, to benefit the future generations, the responsibilities faced are enormous. This free-of-charge school was therefore founded in our poor mountainous area.

To establish an education institute is not an easy task: there needs to be sufficient funding and steady income, and good quality teachers. To satisfy these conditions, one cannot rely on mere waiting or rely on others. Time will not wait, the children's hope are to receive the necessary education to become useful to society, they will not like to become the illiterate of the next generation. To educate children is everyone's responsibility. If we do not care for them, do not emphasize or work hard to create a good environment and learning opportunity for them, it is not right. Everyone wants to lead a meaningful life and not wastes their time, and the way to do so is to do good deeds for the mankind, then one life will be considered worthwhile and meaningful. To help the poor people in the mountainous area out of poverty and to become wealthier, to ensure the happiness of the future generation, we are willing to overcome difficulties, live frugally to save up enough capital to run a good school that everyone likes and is happy about.

To run a good school to allow the students to learn well, having good teachers is very important. The teachers that the school hired must be dedicated to their job, to be responsible, to be willing to give all they have, to love the students, to love the school, and to love their chosen profession.

To run a good school, good educational management is also important. To push the school into the proper path,. we ask for quality and efficiency from the management, to create a perfect system of rules and regulations, to enforce the "School's rules and regulations" and "Teachers duties handbook" that the school have worked out. The principal, disciplinary master, master of the classes, teachers of different subjects are also to carry out their responsibilities.

The purpose of founding the school is to develop the education among Tibetans, to cultivate a idealistic, moralistic, cultural and disciplined generation. Teaching is the focus of any school. During teaching, the school has improved on classroom management and daily management, improve teaching quality to emphasize on quality education. The school is also actively seeking to open a second classroom, to inspire the students' intelligence, to develop teaching and research activities, to mutually teach and learn, to improve the teachers' teaching abilities, to have a complete curriculum, to have enough teaching time. In winter, there are seven class periods daily, and in summer, nine daily. The focus of the guidance and monitoring is to seriously prepare the teaching materials, seriously to teach, seriously correct students' work, seriously assist the students.

In accordance with today's society's needs of quality manpower, to open up career training courses will be the way to train and cultivate qualified and skilled workers to solve the poverty problems and to move society into prosperity.

Besides emphasizing teaching, the school has also formed a Tibetan dance club, a lion dance team, a Tibetan opera club, to enrich the cultural life of the mountainous area.

The school also put together regular parent-teacher meetings every term, there have been five altogether. During the meeting, Gyalten Rinpoche explains the importance and necessity of learning new information, in order to motivate parents to send their children to school.

In short, during the three years ever since the school was founded, under the careful planning and guidance of Gyalten Rinpoche, with the commitment of all the teachers and the great support of the many parents, the school has undergone significant development and teaching results, winning compliments and recognition from visiting government leaders and the local community. Up to now the school has received 78 thank-you letters and eulogies from the upper level and career training students and the students' parents. They thanked Gyalten Rinpoche for starting the education system in the poor mountainous area, to satisfy the children's needs and wishes and to give them a second life by creating a good learning environment. They also appreciated very much the unselfish giving of Gyalten Rinpoche.

2. Improve disciplinary management of the students and to give them correct moral education.

3. Raise funds to build offices, two teachers' and students' dormitories, kitchen and toilets with a total area of 600 kong.

4. Celebrate the graduation of the first Tibetan arts class students, and honor the start of their service to family and society.

1. Teachers' salary: With the increase of the number of classes and teachers, the salary of fourteen teachers as of this year amounted to 63600.00 yuan (US$7,852).

3. Students' textbooks, pencils, exercise books total expense is 12500.00 yuan (US$1543).

5. Seven additional classrooms with a total area of 600 kong need to be built, the fund needed being 540 thousand yuan (US$66,000).

6. The interior decoration and furniture and equipment will need 300 thousand yuan (US$37,000).

7. To install lights and the purchase of transformers will need a fund of 60 thousand yuan (US$54,000).

8. A system for delivering potable water with need a fund of 40 thousand yuan (US$4,940).

9. A previous loan of 200 thousand yuan (US$24,600) to build the present classrooms and walls, and to build teachers' hostels, has not been repaid yet.

The total amount of fund mentioned above is 1,221,100 yuan (US$150,753). We would like to request assistance, large or small, from anyone willing to help. All the teachers and staff and students of the school will take Gyalten Rinpoche's unselfish giving as a role model, to work harder to develop the education system for the ethnic group to fulfill Gyalten Rinpoche's lofty goals.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO HELP THIS SCHOOL, PLEASE CONTACT THE KHAM AID FOUNDATION.