EKLAVYA MODEL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL: A SCHOOL WITH A DIFFERENCE

Gangyap is a small village in West Sikkim. In Bhutia language, it means beyond the hill, a name that implies remoteness. Very few people, even within the state, had heard about this distant hamlet. But all that changed a few years ago, thanks to a school girl's basketball team and their dynamic Principal.

Sidharth Yonzone, the changemaker

Sidharth Yonzone is the unassuming principal of the Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in Gangyap. Earlier, he had worked as an English teacher in a government school in Mangalbarey.  His term had ended and having cleared the National Eligibility Test, he had applied for a lecturer’s post in a college and was accepted. He was ready to move on, but the parents of Mangalbarey wanted him to stay. 

The Human Resource Development Department of Sikkim also had other plans for him. The then Chief Secretary T.T.  Dorjee contacted Sidharth and asked him to head the EMRS, a school that fell under the Social Welfare Department but was being run by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. By the time we met in mid-2017, it was ten years since he had been the principal of the school. When Sidharth arrived in Gangyap, in early 2007, there was just a board indicating a road to ‘Sikkim Tribal School’.

When the students arrived a few months later, they found a single-storey structure, a couple of blackboards, boxes of chalk and a few teachers. There were no books and other equipment that they associated with school. They were confused. For Sidharth, the initial challenge was to stop them from leaving. So, for the first several months he focussed on extra-curricular activities. He filled their days with music, drama, sports and movies. The students found the activities interesting and did not leave. In fact, the games he had introduced became central to the students’ motivation, especially the girls who took to basketball. Through these activities, they began to grow into fine individuals learning teamwork and taking collective responsibility, and developing deep bonds with each other.

Making of an unlikely champion

Nima Doma Bhutia remembered the first time when Sidharth came with an orange ball and asked the girls to dribble it. They had never seen a basketball before.

She now plays for Team India and is employed by the Eastern Railways for her game of basketball.

Sidharth is a huge basketball fan, though he had hardly played it in school. He had previously introduced basketball in the rural government school in Mangalbarey and coached a small team. When he was offered the position of Principal of EMRS, Gangyap, he brought along with him two of his players, Rinchen Doma and Nima Lhamu, and built a team around them. These girls inspired the junior girls to join the team.

In 2010, the team was adjudged the best team of the Central Board Secondary Education (CBSE) Northeast regional champions in Guwahati, and proceeded to Chhattisgarh for the National Championship. In one of the matches, they were pitted against Haryana's tall, robust and tough girls. During this game, Nima Doma was pushed by one of the players and she cracked her scapula. EMRS then went on to lose the next game to Chhattisgarh and returned home disappointed. This experience was an eye-opener. From then on, winning the Nationals was the team’s only goal. After twelve months of intense practice, the now mentally strong team travelled to Chennai in 2011. 

The years 2011 and 2012 were momentous for the girls of Gangyap, and especially for Nima Doma, who clinched the Most Valuable Player Award two years in a row. The team won the National Championships in 2011 and were the first runner-up in 2012.

The years 2011 and 2012 were momentous for the girls of Gangyap, and especially for Nima Doma, who clinched the Most Valuable Player Award two years in a row. The team won the National Championships in 2011 and were the first runner-up in 2012.

Sikkim had never won a medal in basketball before. Jigmela Wazilingpa of the Basketball Association of Sikkim commented then, “A very small school in such a rural area in Gangyap is doing so well in the national level. In fact, they are now the best basketball school team in India.” He was impressed by the players’ hard work and dedication, practicing even during their holidays. On school days their practice began daily at 7:30 a.m. and then resumed after classes from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. They had different drills during practice, if one spoiled a drill then the entire team usually shared the responsibility.

What’s most impressive is that these girls had become national champions despite every single odd being stacked against them. They practiced on a makeshift court that had a mud flooring and was much smaller than the dimensions of a normal basketball court. It was only after they won two National Championships between 2010-2013 and their achievements started garnering attention that they received some donation to build a proper court. Even for this, the girls were very hands-on—they broke stones, dug and levelled the court, mixed cement and finally they had a court that was smooth, of proper dimensions and fit to practice in.

The first winning team of EMRS was composed of Diki Doma Bhutia, Tshering Eden Bhutia, Nima Lhamu Bhutia, Rinchen Doma Bhutia and captain Nima Doma. Equally strong players were Manita Subba, Pem Choden Lepcha, Bimochan Tamang, Tashi Tshering Sherpa and Binu Hangma Subba. Norzum Bhutia, Lakchung Lepcha, Kinchumit Lepcha, Dechen Bhutia, Pema Lhamu Bhutia and Kinzang Chomo Lepcha later joined them.

In basketball, the girls won the Northeast regional tournaments for ten consecutive years (2010 – 2019). Once the senior players finished school and went on to their college, new players joined the team and managed to continue winning. The team won the Nationals twice, the silver medal once and the bronze medal twice. The basketball team also travelled all over the country, as well as to Bhutan and Nepal on invitation. Wherever they go they impress their hosts not only with their skill and talents on the court but also their discipline and courtesy. It is not always easy for them when they face racist slurs from the audience, and sometimes from referees as well. But they have never lost their poise and grace. Even after such unprecedented success, struggles still exist. Because of lack of funds, the team could not participate in the National Championship in 2015.

The girls have always received a hero’s welcome whenever they returned from competitions. The other students, teachers and the local community members have celebrated their homecoming with gusto. They have been showered with flowers and offered khadas and accompanied by a live band. Nima Doma and the players credit their achievements to their coach.

Playing basketball proved to be life-changing for the girls. “If destiny hadn't brought us to EMRS, most of us would have become daily wage labourers, or probably would have married early,” said one of the girls.

Sidharth is proud of how far the team has come. He often says, “In the beginning, according to many, basketball was not meant for us. But all that has been proved wrong. Many people don’t believe that I’ve actually coached them; but then again that doubt is a genuine compliment”.

Playing basketball proved to be life-changing for the girls. “If destiny hadn't brought us to EMRS, most of us would have become daily wage labourers, or probably would have married early,” said one of the girls. It gave them a huge exposure and their basketball journeys have allowed them to experience glories and losses. The sport has made them mentally tougher and has prepared them to face the challenges of everyday life with equanimity. It has also taught them the value of discipline. Basketball has sharpened their way of thinking, for instance, they make decisions in split seconds during the game, and this is carried over to their classrooms, helping them perform well in academics too.

An all-round development

The story of EMRS, Gangyap, thus far is one of struggles and successes. By the time the first batch of students took the class ten board examinations in 2012, there were students who scored ninety percent, and there were no failures. These students needed admissions to colleges and Sidharth accompanied them to ensure seats in reputed colleges for them. Sidharth said that one of the students from the first batch is a hostel warden and another a sports teacher at EMRS. Another three ex-students are working as teachers, taking the total to five.

He counts himself fortunate that the then District Collector, Santa Pradhan, and now Karma R Bonpo, the present DC and also the Chairman of the school, supported him all the way in his endeavours. Huge credit must go to Mr. D.N. Thakarpa who was the MLA for the Tashiding Constituency during the early stages of the school, for he played a crucial role in actually bringing the EMRS to Gangyap. Even the top officials in the related state departments from T.T. Dorjee, the Additional Secretary and R. Telang, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Social Justice, played crucial supportive roles at every stage, he reminisces. He has also had good support from many of his teachers at EMRS.

The school management committee—made up of three parents from Gangyap, one Panchayat and two more from Tashiding and Yuksom—is active in guiding the school’s functioning. The first batch of students excelled in the state class ten exams and Sidharth was keen to upgrade the school to the higher secondary level and did all the follow-up to make it happen. It meant going to Guwahati and Delhi and meeting the concerned departments.

Music and sports have always been important components of the school; the students have shown much talent and grit. The school has staged three huge musical plays that were staged in Gangtok, Kalimpong and other parts of the State. Across the Universe, a love story based on the story of the Beatles, was staged in 2013; It’s Only Love, another love story against the backdrop of the Second World War and the inhuman treatment of the Jews by the Nazis, comprising of a string of classic hit songs from the 1960’s to the 1990’s was staged in 2016, and finally they performed All Shook Up an Elvis Presley musical. 

The girls, especially who took to basketball, have won laurels for the school and the state. They have opened up career paths for the most promising students in sports education. Two girls are now pursuing Bachelors in Sports Education in Gwalior, and other EMRS students have secured admission in some of the top colleges, such as Miranda House and Hindu College in Delhi University.

While the girls excel at basketball, the boys of EMRS, Gangyap, prefer football and volleyball and do well in tournaments at the district as well as the state level. However, the boy's basketball team has done themselves proud by winning the silver medal in 2018 and in 2019 at the CBSE Basketball Championship at the North East Regional in Guwahati.

Till the class ten and twelve level, every year, there are nine to ten students securing more than ninety percent or above, especially at the class twelve board exams.

Sidharth loves to nurture talents and is very protective about his students, for example, when the girls played in Delhi, a sports teacher from Montford Senior Secondary School, a private school, offered a scholarship to Nima Doma, but Sidharth did not agree. Nima has gone on to train in Gwalior and is now in the Indian national team and is considered as one of the top players in the country by the Basketball Federation of India.

Till the class ten and twelve level, every year, there are nine to ten students securing more than ninety percent or above, especially at the class twelve board exams. Almost every year there are state toppers from the school. The school continues to achieve excellent results at the CBSE Board Exams.

The students also use their musical talents to stage programs to raise funds sometime. Whenever there is such a program there is always a good response from the public. Karma, one of the students from EMRS, after studying English Honours in Sikkim University is now enrolled to study Masters in Music from the same University.

A lot of hard work and dedication by Sidharth, his team of teachers and students have gone into making EMRS, Gangyap, what it is today. The school is a beacon of hope in what often feels like a world where the gathering storms of social upheaval are always lurking to frustrate human efforts. It proves that a right person at the right place, given the support, works wonders.

Eklavya Model Residential Schools are set up across the country with grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution of India through the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The objective of EMRS is to provide quality middle and higher-level education to Scheduled Tribes students in remote areas.

The students are selected through competition at class six-level, preference being given to children who are first-generation learners, and from economically vulnerable section. The guideline for student composition stipulates an equal number of boys and girls; allocation and use of space, preferential employment of women teachers and the management and funding of these schools. The management rules for running EMRS are broad and comprehensive and include the role of the state administration and involvement of the public.

Reference:

1. Cabrido, C. (2013). For Girls of Gangyap, Basketball Proves Life-Changing, Retrieved from http://thewip.net/education/for-girls-of-gangyap-basketball-proves-life-changing/
2. Interview with Sidharth Yonzone.

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