Page 260 - Final Draft_Casestudies_17June2019_new

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Indira Poudyal

West Point Senior Secondary School, Gangtok
Email id: westpointgangtok@gmail.com

Abstract

This is a senior secondary government school located in an urban area with most of the
students from low socio-economic groups. Many of the challenges related to the school
are with regard to lack of adequate facilities, poor infrastructure and inefficient
management of co-curricular activities. The school has adopted a different approach to
curriculum by adding emphasis on ―learning by doing‖, at the same time promoting
environment friendly concepts which students have been studying theoretically in their
textbooks. To inculcate gender equality among students, the school has formed an All
Girls School Piper Band. Students inclined to substance abuses are motivated to
participate in small musical events and assembly. The bamboo project where students
learn how to use eco friendly raw materials in making useful products was an
endeavour directed towards teaching of life skills and syllabus integrated learning. The
project turned out to be a huge success for a number of reasons.

Socio-Cultural Context of the School

West Point Senior Secondary Government School, established in the year 1959 is one of the
oldest schools located in the capital of Sikkim.

Schools are complex organizations that are constantly changing with new challenges emerging
continually. It is not enough to overcome these challenges by creating one solution for all issues
and hence it becomes an ethical commitment to address them alongside stakeholders and
supporters to address the dilemmas of continuing progress.

West Point School is a senior secondary government school located in an urban area with a
student population of 605 girls and 657 boys ganging from pre-school to the twelfth grade. Most
of these students are children of fruit and vegetable vendors, manual labourers, domestic
servants, construction workers and are from low socio-economic groups. The school has an
average performance in academics.

We have maximum number of Scheduled Tribes children studying here. The commonly spoken
language is Nepali. They are Buddhist by religion but they have a tolerance of other religion too.

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