Paramount

North Point

Pioneer

Paramount is roughly central to the town. The numbers of pupils vary but the average is 26 pupils per teacher. The classrooms are large and airy. Fans on the ceiling to cool in Summer, windows open onto a wide covered veranda.
25 of our children go to Paramount which is run by the principal Mr Lama. His mother set the school up and has always been in Education. When she retired she asked her son to take over. Mr Lama was an Engineer until to took up this duty.

During lockdown Mr Lama, with the help of a PC expert, set up a piece of software called E Corridor as a way of doing work at home, having it evaluated and more work set as needed. It was adopted by all the schools across Kalimpong and further afield. Paramount received an award for being an entrepreneur in the field of education.

Another area of Mr Lama’s input is in the teaching aid he has bought for our children’s preschool kindergarten. Comprising three books that work in tandem, it was designed by Oxford University Press. Whilst we were there we called into all the classrooms. A lot of activities were going on, in which small groups of children were asked to do a wall or tabletop demonstration on a given topic. The ideas around plants, volcanos, climate and healthy eating were fascinating.

We have 10 pupils at North Point which is North of Kalimpong.

The principal is Mr Uprety. He has strong moral principles and his teaching is different from all the other schools though his school may have to adapt to Modi’s requirements in the future. He has a daily assembly held outside if the weather is dry. He has them lined up and they have morning exercise a kind of stretch dance theme. They sing the Indian national anthem in Nepali. He is a follower of Sai Baba. They have a morning prayer.

Mr Uprety is a state Yoga teacher, first class. Brian and I were amazed at what he could do. He teaches a small group of children at the school. He likes to be with the children throughout the school day. He shows great interest in their progress and teases questions out of them. We have to say his pupils are alert and quick, open and keen to take part. Every day at assembly they are asked questions about given scenarios and what they would, could or should actively do. They are also told a little about world events and interventions. One teacher per day takes part in this activity. We were deeply impressed. He takes great pride in all the children and they were the stars of our RTL 45 children’s party held at Mr Lama’s school.

Pioneer has a small, rented building. It would probably not reach Modi’s mandate. However, Mrs Pradhan has built a new school ready for opening at the start of the new school year, March 2023. At the moment we have 10 of our pupils at Pioneer,

We were taken to view it in the South of the town, spacious, high up the mountainside, approx. 20 min drive from the old school. No pollution up there with well-established trees in the grounds which are owned by Mrs Pradhan’s mother, another lifelong teacher. It will be managed by her daughter who is an alert and capable businesswoman who is easy to get on with.