Sambhota Tibetan School, Shimla
(Senior Secondary School)
CBSE Affiliation No: 690001, School Code No: 43012
Managed by Sambhota Tibetan Schools Society
(Under the Department of Education, CTA, Dharamsala)
(Registered under the Society Registration Act XXI of 1860) Registration No. S-E/403/Distt. South-EAST/2014
Sambhota Tibetan School, Shimla
The Central School for Tibetans, Shimla formerly known as Tibetan Refugee School Shimla, came into being in early 1961 under the Principal of Shri Sonam Topjor Tethong. The strength of Mussoorie and Dharamsala School exceeded their intake capacity and hence the need for another school for Tibetan refugee children was urgently felt. When the officials deputed from Dharamsala came to Shimla in search of a good campus for school, they saw a huge colonial building called “Torrentium Cottage” with a small class room block and a playground which then used to house the junior section of Bishop Cotton School. After negotiations and agreement was signed on December 1, 1960 between the Representative of H. H. the Dalai Lama and the Governing Body of Bishop Cotton School by which the whole property was to be initially rented and ultimately purchased. Sh. Sonam Topjor Tethong, the first Principal and his assistants had made the necessary arrangements when the first batch of 160 students arrived from Dharamsala Nursery. Later on, from time to time more students joined the school.
The school was taken over by CTSA, which as erstwhile called Tibetan Schools’ Society (TSS). In the later part of 1964 during the tenure of Pt. Shyam Narayan, the first Secretary of CTSA, the school campus was further extended with the purchase of the adjoining building, out-houses and a Tennis Court known as “Villa Torrents”. With the arrival of more and more children the existing accommodation was proving to be inadequate. So a branch school was also opened at Earlsfield near St. Bedes’ College, to accommodate the increasing number of children.
In 1973, the first batch of Higher Secondary School (Class XI) was groomed to appear in the All India Board Examination from this school but just before they were to sit for the examination, they were sent to CST Mussoorie to expand the strength of that school. In 1975, the second and the last group of Higher Secondary students in the old pattern of education took their board examination from this school. In the year 1975 new education system of 10+2+3 was introduced by Govt. of India, however CST Shimla remained Secondary school (Class X) due to lack of infrastructure facilities at that time. The school was later upgraded to Senior Secondary in the year 1987.
On October 27, 1983, the main Torrentium building which housed the girls’ hostel and junior boys’ hostel was gutted in a fire accident due to electric short circuit. Fortunately, no loss of life occurred in the accident. During the tenure of Sh. S. P. Datta, Secretary of CTSA, a hostel building with an intake capacity of 350 children, a class room block and a Library block was sanctioned for construction and in 1991, H. H. the Dalai Lama inaugurated the new three storey girls’ hostel building and thus students/residents enjoyed good hostel facilities in the school.
Due to far sighted decision of Government of India in 2013, this school was transferred to Sambhota Tibetan Schools Society under CTA Dharamsala on Dec 23, 2021. The decision to transfer the school was hailed many as a positive step because the schools’ quality of providing education to its students would improve.
This school has started its new journey on Dec 24, 2021under the able guidance from educational visionaries of STSS/DoE Dharamsala, with the aim of providing caring environment for the overall development students in school and prepares them to become contributing members of the society when they leave this school.
It is one of the premier learning institutions for Tibetan refugee children. The former students of this school have assumed prestigious posts in the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala and many others have settled in different parts of the world as contributing members of their society.
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Mr. Pema Gyaltsen
(Principal, STS Shimla)
Sambhota Tibetan School, Shimla,
P.O. Chotta Shimla, District: Shimla,
Pin: 171002 Himachal Pradesh
Contact No.: (0177) 2620677/2624838
Email: stsshimla@gmail.com
Website: http://stsshimla.in/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stsshimla
