Over these years I felt that growing in the small and least developed corner of the country was of more enriching
experience with an enjoyable and inspiring moment in my life than living in this competitive city for the last few years. When Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) was airing the story on rural
students undertaking manual jobs like crashing stones during the winter vacation to help their parents, it took me back to my high school days and strengthened my aspiration to go
back to the village after retirement.
Though suffering would be endless in the village yet you are confined to simplicity and peace-loving life. I always remember that money was hardly found and there was an increasing pressure to earn three meals a day which could be a hard-fought battle for a family in rural life.
In the simplicity of rural life, you never forget to help each other in times of need. You are never bound to have obligations like a financial loan in the town, no matter, even if you are running numerous troublesome, everyone understands the hardship and help each other.
When students in the urban are enjoying holidays or partake in fruitful activities given access to so many platforms, students in rural would be busy lending helping hands to their poor parents in household chores and farming. If there is not much work at home, they go to other places to work and earn such as crushing stones at the side and carrying oranges to the nearest motorable road from the village. Therefore, when it comes to exposure, there is no comparison between students living in rural and urban, and this results in creating a huge gap between poor and rich.
Is it difficult to curve this gap so that everyone gets the almost equal and same opportunity? A little pro-rural policy intervention could be of a much-needed policy to uplift the rural face. I find we are at the right juncture to frame such a policy as it will be difficult to rectify once it is blown out of proportion. We can learn lessons from our neighboring countries.
While rural-based students are not exposed to the western and modern lifestyle, we must not forget that they learn a reality of the life that our forefathers went through as well as they are mostly accustomed to the core human value of simplicity which every successful people in the world talks at the end of the day. In this way, I always believe that rural people can keep our true legend of Bhutanese identities such as the value of our tradition and culture.
The government could consider setting a library in rural areas, taking youth program of the Ministry of Education to villages [Seen most programs are held in the city and difficult to participate by economically deprived students] and also encourage Non-Governmental Organizations to help youth to learn necessary skills.
Though suffering would be endless in the village yet you are confined to simplicity and peace-loving life. I always remember that money was hardly found and there was an increasing pressure to earn three meals a day which could be a hard-fought battle for a family in rural life.
In the simplicity of rural life, you never forget to help each other in times of need. You are never bound to have obligations like a financial loan in the town, no matter, even if you are running numerous troublesome, everyone understands the hardship and help each other.
When students in the urban are enjoying holidays or partake in fruitful activities given access to so many platforms, students in rural would be busy lending helping hands to their poor parents in household chores and farming. If there is not much work at home, they go to other places to work and earn such as crushing stones at the side and carrying oranges to the nearest motorable road from the village. Therefore, when it comes to exposure, there is no comparison between students living in rural and urban, and this results in creating a huge gap between poor and rich.
Is it difficult to curve this gap so that everyone gets the almost equal and same opportunity? A little pro-rural policy intervention could be of a much-needed policy to uplift the rural face. I find we are at the right juncture to frame such a policy as it will be difficult to rectify once it is blown out of proportion. We can learn lessons from our neighboring countries.
While rural-based students are not exposed to the western and modern lifestyle, we must not forget that they learn a reality of the life that our forefathers went through as well as they are mostly accustomed to the core human value of simplicity which every successful people in the world talks at the end of the day. In this way, I always believe that rural people can keep our true legend of Bhutanese identities such as the value of our tradition and culture.
The government could consider setting a library in rural areas, taking youth program of the Ministry of Education to villages [Seen most programs are held in the city and difficult to participate by economically deprived students] and also encourage Non-Governmental Organizations to help youth to learn necessary skills.
(This opinion is mine alone, and does not represent the opinion of anyone else, including my employer. Please accept my apologies if anyone feels offended or disrespected by the article. Your kindness will always remain with me)
