CBSE Affiliation:

It is a great joy to share the good news that after a long struggle the School has now acquired the legal possession of the school land. The Government of Himachal Pradesh granted permission for the transfer of land in the name of Tibetan Children’s Village School, Suja under the Sub-Rule of Rules 38-A of Himachal Pradesh Tenant and Land Reforms Rules- 1975. Given this development the School applied for its necessary Affiliation to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on June 26, 2003. The CBSE deputed the Principal of K.V. School Sarahan, Shimla and the Principal of DAV Public School, Shimla for necessary follow up in accordance with its procedure required for affiliation. After a thorough inspection of all the school facilities they looked through the teachers’ qualification and other allied services as required in the by-laws of the CBSE system. They were impressed with the infrastructure and the standard of the school education. They endorsed the report with a very strong recommendation and subsequently affiliation to the CBSE was obtained with effect from year 2004.

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A PROFILE OF TCV SCHOOL SUJA, MANDI, HP

Background history of TCV Suja. Following the Chinese limited liberalization policy of the 1980s, Tibetans by the thousands crossed over to India to seek freedom from suppression and persecution. Among the escapees there were a sizable number of illiterate young adults who needed help in education as well as eventual integration into society. The Cabinet Secretariat of the Tibetan Administration (Kashag) founded an adult education school in 1986 at Bir 75 km from Dharamsala. It was named New Tibetan School, and there were 68 students who lived and studied in rental houses there.
Later in 1990, the Kashag entrusted the responsibility of running the school to TCV, as it had the required experience and capacity to do so. At the time of TCV's takeover, there were already 322 young adults with many joining day by day. When the school was in its early development; there was neither proper curriculum, nor adequate infrastructure. For TCV, it was a moment of great challenge. Everything had to be reorganized and restructured in a systematic manner, keeping in mind the unique needs of adult newcomer students. We surveyed the needs of the students there and formulated plans to improve the school. Construction of dormitories, classrooms, a hospital and allied education facilities were given due priority. On the education side, we designed a multi-pronged approach focusing on individual needs of the young adults and giving them a wide range of options to choose from – both academic and vocational. New policy guidelines were worked out with the aim of standardizing the education and opening other options and opportunities for further education and training. In spite of considerable struggles in the efforts to create a new kind of school within the TCV system, Bir School eventually came out a success.

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Tibetan SOS Children’s Village at Suja (Bir)

The successful handling of the adult school at Bir led to another development in TCV’s continual efforts in combating the overcrowding problems. SOS Kinderdorf International agreed to fund the establishment of a completely new Tibetan SOS Children’s Village at Suja (Bir). A plot of seven acres of land was bought around the TCV Bir School, and hectic construction of the Children’s Village was undertaken. A first batch of 27 children from Tibet arrived even when the village was not formally opened. Temporary arrangements were made for them. As the major part of the construction was completed in 1994 and the required infrastructures created, a fresh batch 303 children from Tibet joined the Village. It has family homes and a primary school. Later in the year 1997, it was formally merged under one administration headed by a director and the school principal. Currently, we have 1675 students and 176 staff members in the school. To the satisfaction of TCV and its staff, our students are known to be the most diligent and hardworking of all students in exile. Today the school is affiliated to CBSE, New Delhi at the secondary level. The school has adapted well to the new system of education in accordance with the Central Board of Secondary Education curriculum.