Bhutan’s debating wunderkind
31 October 2008
“As long as human beings believe in gods and goddesses, belief in ghosts will be inseparable. As long as human civilisation exists, corruption will still be around,” said Tshering Penjore, a 16-year-old student of Motithang Higher Secondary School, at the SAARC inter-school debate in New Delhi on October 24, the United Nations Day.
Barely three days after representing his school in an inter-school quiz competition in the Bhutanese capital, Tshering was declared the best speaker for the motion at the inter-school debate in the Indian capital, New Delhi.
He spoke in support of the topic, “All countries in the world, rich and poor, are vulnerable to corruption, so corruption is not a developmental issue at all.” The award for the best speaker against the motion went to a Pakistani student.
Schoolteachers of Motithang said that Tshering Penjore had constantly won debates for the school within the country since his enrollment there. He also scored the second highest marks in the country in the class X board examinations last year. Small wonder why the Vice Principal of the school described him as “an outstanding student in studies and co-curricular activities,” His family, though, is still trying to digest the surprise of hearing that he was judged the best speaker in a debate at the sub-continental level.
“A day before the debate, he called me and said that there were students who had studied in the best international schools with good spoken English,” said Rinzin Pam, Tshering’s proud father. “He does like challenges and is competitive but we did not expect that he would be the best speaker. It was a big surprise,” Tshering is widely regarded as studious and reserved. His father says he has always been “academically sound” but describes himself as “just the opposite”. “He is a very carefree boy (whose) studies centre around what he does in school. He is a good “orator” and is good in sports,” said Rinzin Pam. Tshering Penjore’s parents are both civil servants. He has a 10-year-old younger brother who, according to Rinzin Pam, is no less talented.
Tshering was accompanied by Class XI Science classmate, Puja Subedi, to represent Bhutan at the debate. The event was organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the UN Development Programme in memory of the noted Pakistani development economist, Mahbub Ul Haq.
India won the debate and Bangladesh finished second. The participants and the winners were awarded trophies and certificates by the Indian External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee.
Tshering Penjore returns home today.
By Tandin Pem
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GIB CONGRATULATION TO TRSHERING PENJOR AND I SHARE THE SAME PRIDE HIS FAMILY SHARED….
EDUCATION MINISTRY SHOULD SOMETIMES GIVE SUCH OPPORTUNITIES TO THE STUDENTS OF RURAL SCHOOLS…WHO MIGHT ALSO SHARE THEIR BEST FROM THEIR OWN PERSPSCTIVES.
The rural school children should not be neglected as well…mey.
TSHERING……………………………………………………………..JUST FEELS PROUD OF IT WHEN WE HEAR SUCH A THING ABOUT A BHUTANEASE CITIZIN OUT HERE IN INDIA. DONT LOOSE IT……………..YOU CAN BE SOMETHING GREAT FOR OUT COUNTRY, KING AND OUR PEOPLE. CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.