Thanks to '3 Idiots', Rancho's school finds sponsors

It's been there for years, but Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir came into the limelight after Aamir Khan starrer "3 Idiots" hit the screens. Post the film, now famously known as Rancho's school, not only it gets loads of tourists, but has found sponsors for the under-privileged studying there.

Prasad Eledath, principal of Druk White Lotus School, told IANS: "We have sponsors from all over the world. We have sponsors from the west and from some other parts of the our country."

"We have two network organisations. One is the Drukpa Trust and the other is the Live to Love. These two support the school immensely as we are able to find sponsors through their effort. A lot of collaboration that is taking place."

The financial help is important for the children who come to study from far flung areas in the mountain as the yearly expenditure per student comes to about Rs.30,000.

"We have around 200 children who come from remote areas. For many of them, we would find sponsors who would take care of the cost related to their education. For them, it is completely free unless there is some basic cost that is involved," Eledath said.

The Druk White Lotus School in Shey, 15 km from Leh town, has the strength of 671 kids.

The school has been providing education since September 2001 and has expanded to class 10th over the years. However, now the institute plans to upgrade their education to senior secondary level.

Annie Smith, Education Advisor and School Management Committeeof DWLS, told IANS: "We are looking into upgrading for the 11th and 12th standards. This is an area where 10 plus 2 is very important. Not every child will be able to go to the university so we are looking into that."

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