Mustang’s Lo-Ghekar to Teach Sambhota Script in Schools

Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality of Mustang to Teach Sambhota Script in Schools

Lo Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality of Mustang will teach the seventh-century-old Sambhota script of the Lowa language at the school level. As the script has reached the verge of disappearance due to the influence of modernity, its teaching will begin as a local curriculum in schools from the coming fiscal year 2083/84 with the objective of preserving and promoting the local language, script, art, and culture.

At the 22nd Rural Municipal Assembly held on Monday, Chairperson Lopsang Chompel Bista, while presenting the policy and program, informed that a budget of Rs. 10 million has been allocated for the preservation and teaching of the Sambhota script.

Until now, the Sambhota script had been limited to monasteries as religious and cultural education. It will now be included in the academic calendar from the basic level and taught accordingly. Chairperson Bista said that a budget has also been allocated for printing textbooks and managing the necessary educational materials.

The Sambhota script, used for writing the Tibetan language, is believed to have been developed by Thonmi Sambhota, a minister of Tibet’s King Srongtsen Gampo. This script has four vowel letters and 30 consonant letters.

Budget of Rs. 346.816 Million for the Coming Year

At the Rural Municipal Assembly, Vice Chairperson Chiring Lhamo Gurung presented a budget of Rs. 346.816 million for the coming fiscal year 2083/84. According to Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Upadhyay, 60 percent of the total allocated budget has been set aside for capital expenditure and 40 percent for recurrent expenditure.

The Rural Municipal Assembly has allocated Rs. 33.5 million for the education and sports sector. Similarly, Rs. 5 million has been allocated for the construction of the Charang Basic School building and the purchase of necessary equipment for operating Charang Hospital.

In the agriculture and livestock sector, a budget of Rs. 4.1 million has been set aside for distributing agricultural tools at a 50 percent subsidy and for providing subsidies for transporting apples and potatoes. Similarly, Rs. 10 million has been allocated for the protection of the Dhyakmar settlement and control of the Dhye River. The Rural Municipality has also prioritized the preservation of Charang Palace, infrastructure development at religious and tourist sites, and construction of roads and other physical structures.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of the 22nd Rural Municipal Assembly, the Rural Municipality also honored Accounts Officer Ujwal Chapai and Administrative Officer Shobha Pun.