Dharamshala, India: - The manager of a Tibetan school in Uttarakhand has won a prestigious award for ‘distinguished services in the field of education.'
Sonam Wangdu, who founded the Dawa Rinjue School, in Herbertpur, in 1991, was presented with the honours award by Chairman of the Standing Committee for the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Sh. Oscar Fernandes M.P., at the Independent Schools Federation of India's annual national conference in New Delhi, on November 28.
In the Presence of chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education, Sh. Vineet Joshi , and other dignitaries, Wangdu dedicated his award to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile, which provided his own education, adding that it is as a result of his education that he is able to contribute to the Tibetan community, helping to preserve its language and cultural identity.
The school, which started with just 12 students and three teachers, has swelled over the past two decades to accommodate 700 Tibetan and Indian students up to grade 10, and 20 members of staff.
Wangdu added that the school's main aims are to ‘provide a firm foundation of education to the children so they may grow up to be good citizens, and to make the students responsible, well disciplined, self reliant, loyal and patriotic.'
