St. Mary’s School

Where is the school?

Singla Tea garden is nestled in the Himalayan foot hills 17 km away from the main town of Darjeeling. 

Unemployment in the area is the main problem (estimated to be 75% of the working population) for which the majority of the people are illiterate. Working as a tea garden labourer is the only option to earn a living. Through years of neglect and competition from tea producers in other parts of the world many of the tea gardens in the Darjeeling area are in a poor condition. A tea garden worker receives a very poor wage.

The School

History

In 1991 the Congregation of Jesus Sisters also known as CJ Sisters were invited to work in a tea garden at Singla near Darjeeling (where St Mary’s School is now situated) by the Jesuit Fathers. Two sisters were sent to work among the tea garden people, one a social worker the other a nurse. They lived with a local family for three years.
 
During this time the local people requested that their children be educated. In response the sisters set up a temporary building and thus in 1993 St Mary's school was started.

When the school first started classes were held in a few local houses in the tea garden. Classes were for ages three to ten. Despite the request for education in the initial years parents were hesitant to educate their children. There was more income for the family if their children worked rather than going to school.

The sisters gradually convinced the parents the importance of education. Slowly the number of students increased and the sisters realised that they now desperately needed a proper school building.

With the majority of the students not being able to pay any school fees the sisters approached the Jesuit Fathers who agreed to help with the construction of a school building. The Jesuit Fathers approached the Education Sponsorship Asia (ESA) in Tokyo, Japan. With their aid and support the present school building was constructed and inaugurated on the 19th October 1987.

Whilst the school expanded and more students were enrolled the sisters struggled to meet the expenses due to the lack of income from school fees. Furthermore the school had to be further upgraded to take students up to the age of sixteen, to achieve that more qualified teachers and related infrastructure were also needed.

It was at this time of crisis in 2001 that the previous Principal, sister Andrea CJ met John & Jenny Casson from the United Kingdom during a visit to the school . Impressed with what the school was achieving but concerned with the lack of funds John and Jenny Casson decided to help the school through their company Securewest International. Their generous contributions ensured that the school could employ more qualified teachers and cover its day to day financial needs and thus protecting its long term financial security.

Present

Currently the school has 320 students from in and around the Singla valley. Some of them walk at least an hour to reach the school. The age group of the students range from three to eighteen years. The school charges a nominal monthly fee of Rs.85/- for the primary section and Rs.115/- for the secondary section.  Due to the low income of the parents only a handful of the students pay the full fee, some of them pay half and the rest cannot pay at all.

The school principal, sister Anupa CJ is assisted by three other sisters who collectively report to the sister Provincial in Patna, Bihar. The school has fourteen teachers and three non teaching staff. The school also has a hostel for girls which can accommodate about 40 students. The school has been upgraded up to standard ten for sixteen to eighteen year olds from early 2008.

St. Mary's Singla does not have any official recognition from any education body in India. The school has been applying for this qualification every year for the last five years but this is on hold. The reason for this is due to the political situation in Darjeeling District. The local council is presently suspended due a dispute with the state government of West Bengal, the local council demanding more powers such as its statehood within India. As a result the local education authorities are not functioning.

The school receives no help from the local government or education authorities at all. The school relies on contributions made by John & Jenny Casson through their company Securewest International  Father Papadil a Jesuit Priest and little income from the school fees. These sources of funds are not sufficient for the schools future needs.

School Objectives

sister Anupa the school principle has the following school objectives:

• To help students to understand how to be part of a just society.
  
  
• To help students to be come intellectually competent, morally sound, psychologically balanced, spiritually whole and to be committed to the cause of peace and justice.
  
  
• The school aspires towards creating a human society:-
  
  
• Free from prejudice, superstition, discrimination based on sex, religion, caste and economic status.
  
  
• To develop respect for all human beings, dignity of labour, concern for all especially the under privileged.
  
  
• To develop confident and vibrant children into men and women who are able to face the challenges of life.