AN ESSENCE, HONOUR & IMPORTANCE- A story of a humble teacher’s years

 

A teacher’s achievements deserve the greatest fanfare and celebration than any one does, for he makes the rest possible. A teachers’ celebration is a celebration of mankind’s greatest hope for peace and happiness.

Lop. Yonten Jamtsho is a sage, a quiet sea of humility and calmness. He is neither thrilled by prosperity nor amused by power. He is a mountain among senior most principals of Punakha Dzongkhag.  He rarely raises his voice, and when he does, it is in a whisper laden with purity of intentions and clarity of message.

Teaching career was beginning to lose its essence, honour and an importance if the government did not come to its rescue. With future as bleak and far for a dream every child has, there was a need to redress the lost haven of teacherdom. With accolades and incentives, with hope and aspirations for better future in the hands of teachers, promotions of teaching career definitely must become an Olympian grand opening.

Lop. Yonten is one of the few principals to be awarded promotion to Executive Specialist, recognising his 21 years of contribution to several schools in varying capacities as teacher and leader. This is one of the biggest shift in a professional career, and he is the first principal in the Dzongkhag to have the fortune of celebrating the promotion.

“Life wasn’t very smooth for me. There were many upheavals and limitations. I faced it boldly. I may face many challenges, but I will not give up.” Lop. Yonten signals that his achievements are results of obstacles he had overcome, challenges he had mitigated and sacrifices made in the service of the country. His story is an inspiration, as much as anyone else’s story can be.

Lop. Yonten is from the remote village of Khengzor in Pemagatshel. His father was chosen for armed force training and had to live in Haa soon after training. That was the beginning of Yonten’s early life in Ha, Damthang. Eldest of four siblings, he had begun to strive early in life through dire economic conditions at home.

His teachers were those chosen from army personnels, and it was one of the toughest days of his school life to begin with. The discipline was military, rigid, severe and unforgiving. Physical punishments were common answers to any lapses and errors. He was reluctant to go to school, but his parents kept nudging forward against his will. Completing primary school at Damthang, Yonten went to CHoden Junior School in Lungtenphug in Thimphu. After a year at Lungtenphug, he was moved to Tencholing Primary School, Wangdue Phodrang. He was in class five then, a miniature boy with a modest look at like. After two years Yonten moved school again. This time was at Wangduephodrang Junior school where he completed class VIII.

His tryst with Punakha High School began in class IX. It was in Punakha that he understood the value of education, and began an ordeal of hard work to excel and compete among many fortunate students.

“I remember having toiled hard, and have burnt lots of midnight oil. It payed off well when I was awarded 1st Division passed certificate in class X board examination. It was ICSE, Indian Certificate Secondary Examination.” Yonten recalls, pleased that he had worked hard. This accomplishment propelled him to Sherubtse College in 1993, to pursue is pre-university studies. During those days Sherubtse College was the only premier college in Bhutan, and only the cherries on the cream from across the country could reach Sherubtse.

If we fail to overcome obstacles in life, we fail to cherish the childhood dream we have. Lop. Yonten nostalgically recalls; “I encountered many obstacles. My parents’ divorce was the biggest. I was compelled to live with relatives. I was treated differently than my parents would have.”

With proud memory of his resilience and will even as a child from a broken family, he tells a story of victory. “On some cruises of my life, I met seniors and my peers who offered me drugs and alcohol. My modesty was at stake several times. I risked losing friends than lose my humble virtues. I was dragged into a gang fight; I remained steadfast to my ideals.” Temperance, humility and focus have become his tool against life’s biggest influences, and these have him propelled to be what he is today.

Yonten delights on his dream today. “I completed my 3rd year degree in 1998. I wanted to be a simple social worker, so I decided to join teaching. I pursued PGCE at the then National Institute of Education and completed my one year course in December 1999.

“My teaching career began in February 2000 from Zhemgang High School. Like it was a karmic fruition of his challenging life, I became an Assistant Principal in 2003. In 2004, I was appointed officiating principal at Pemagatshel Middle Secondary School. It was a blessing to be teaching at a place where my roots began.”

“I worked as principal from 2005 and continued till December 2008 at Pemagatshel. In the beginning of 2009, I was transferred to Baylling HSS in Trashiyangtse where I served for eleven long years. It was my longest service at one school. He completed his M. Ed Leadership and Management course in 2009.

In February 2020, I opted to be transferred to the West for reason sacred to my dream. When Covid-19 pandemic began, I also began my journey to Punakha Dzongkhag. This is the beginning of days at Tashidingkha CS, Punakha.

As Lop. Yonten celebrates his achievements, he says, “If we resist insistence, we remain unaffected. We are our own protecting shield, an Elysian Shield, a resilience when life falls apart.”

We were Sherubtsean mates, an old associate from the very peak of learning. He was that man whose strength was in the virtues and quiet recluse of life than in the chaos of life many will find themselves lost to sea.