Will the school made famous by Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots finally receive the CBSE affiliation it has been pining for?

Surely you've heard about Druk Padma Karpo School in Ladakh? Famously known as Rancho’s school, you'll hear about it a lot more now since it might be getting that coveted CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) affiliation this year as, after a long delay, it has received clearance from the Jammu and Kashmir board. And one of the most important affiliation norms of the central board is to get a No Objection Certificate No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the respective state board, as per a report in PTI.

After featuring in the 2009 hit film 3 Idiots, starring actor Aamir Khan as Rancho, the school became really popularly and is now affiliated to the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education (JKBOSE).

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“Though we have all the required infrastructure in place, excellent result record and focus on innovative ways of teaching and learning, we didn’t get the NOC from JKBOSE despite several attempts all these years,” school principal Mingur Agmo informed PTI and added that they have been trying for CBSE-affiliation for many years now. 

“Finally, the document has been received this month and we will complete the rest of the process for affiliation soon. We are hoping that we will get the affiliation this year and there will be no more hurdles,” she added.

Even before Ladakh acquired the status of a Union Territory, they have been trying for clearance and even after the bifurcation, Ladakh schools are still affiliated to the Jammu and Kashmir board. With an aim to fulfill the “realistic needs of the students as per the natural conditions of the region”, it was proposed by a committee last year that Ladakh should establish its own territorial board.

It is after respected scholar Mipham Pema Karpo (1527-1592) that the 21-year-old Druk Padma Karpo School is named and as far as the words 'Padma Karpo' are concerned, it means white lotus in the local language, Bothi. 

The school building's wall features in the closing scene of the Bollywood film 3 Idiots. In 2018, the wall was relocated so that tourists don't distract the school students. Bothi, English, Hindi, Sciences, Social Studies, creative arts and sports are taught at the school along with training in life and livelihood and other important skills via co-curricular and formal activities.

“Currently, students are on a winter break and we decided that this winter break will be a ‘no gadgets’ holiday," the principal says and adds, "Due to the pandemic, we started classes through smartphones though it still continues to be a challenge as there is no internet stability in some of the hilly terrains so we have given only offline homework to students during the break.”