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On 25th July 2020, Yonphula Centenary College (YCC) organized the Graduation Day for the third batch of MA (English) students. Amidst the pandemic of Covid-19, fourteen students successfully graduated and received their certificates. The event was presided by Dasho Nidup Dorji, Vice-Chancellor, Royal University of Bhutan. He was accompanied by Dr. Samdrup Rigyal, Director General of Planning and Resources. Mr. Tshering Wangdi, President, Sherubtse College and YCC; Mr. Tshering Thinley, Dean of Academic Affairs YCC; Deans, HoDs and senior faculty members from Sherubtse College, the faculty members of YCC were part of the program.

The event flagged off with the reception of the honourable chief guest Dasho Nidup Dorji, the national anthem, the offering of Marchang by the President and the performance of Zhabten in the honour of the 5th Druk Gyalpo Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck. After these introductory events, President delivered the welcome address in which he congratulated the third batch of graduating students and showered the students with his blessings. He also extended his immense respect towards the dedication and sacrifice of the monarchial system of Bhutan. It was followed by a highly enlightening graduation address by Dasho Nidup Dorji, who not only extended his best wishes to the graduating students but also enriched them about the ethics and moral values of being a teacher. He also meticulously reflected on the top ten critical skills, which are extremely important for the tutors to inculcate in the 21st century.

The addresses were followed by a brief celebration through graduation-cake cutting, cultural programs and reflections by the graduating students. Ms. Subadra Acharya and Mr. Taw Tshering shared their experiences and extended their gratitude towards the college administration, teachers and friends in English and Dzongkha respectively. Then, came the most phenomenal moment of the day as the Vice-Chancellor gave away certificates and prizes to the graduating batch of students. The Certificate for being the topper in the First Semester went to Subhadra Acharya, the second to Taw Tshering and the third to Tshering Choden. In the Second Semester, the first position was again secured by Subhadra Acharya, the second position by Langa Tshering and the third by Taw Tshering. In the Third Semester, once againSubhadra Acharya stood first, followed by Kancho Wangdi and Taw Tshering in the respective second and third positions. Certificates for student leadership went to the class- representatives, Taw Tshering and Tshering Choden. The best dissertation certificate was awarded to Kencho Wangdi. The gold medal for overall academic performance topper was awarded to Subhadra Acharya and the silver medal to Taw Tshering. The award of medals was followed by a vote of thanks by the Program Leader of YCC Dr. S. Chitra, who expressed her thankfulness to the esteemed guests, congratulated the students and extended her best wishes for their future. The event concluded with a group photo session and a wholesome lunch.

Yonphula Centenary College successfully conducted the Dissertation Presentation and Defense programme for the third cohort of the MA in English Programme from16th to 17th July 2020. A total of 14 students presented their research work before a panel of experts consisting of Dr. DorjiWangchuk, Assistant Professor at Paro College of Education of the Royal University of Bhutan;Dr. Shatruddha, Colombo Plan Lecturer, Media Studies Programme of Sherubtse College and Dr. Jai Singh, Assistant Professor at the Department of Indian & World Literatures of the English & Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad. Due to difficulties of travelling from India caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Jai Singh participated in the programme online through Zoom conferencing. Students of the fourth cohort also participated as the audience through Zoom conference services.

Mr. TsheringWangdi, President, Sherubtse College&Yonphula Centenary College, graced the occasion with his presence on the opening day of the programme.

All the students of the 3rd cohort had conducted research on various literary topics and their dissertations were shaped upon the proposals that they had prepared and presented before a panel of experts in the previous semester. The panelists appreciated the research carried out by the students and provided valuable and constructive feedback on the content and structure of their dissertations. The panelists also shared valuable insights and advice regarding research to the participating students as well as those in the audience after the completion of presentation by students. A vote of thanks was offered by Dr. S. Chitra, the Programme Leader, who extended hearty appreciation on behalf of the academic team at YonphulaCentenary College, to everyone whose support and participation had led to the success of the event. The program concluded with Mr. TsheringThinley, the Dean of Academic Affairs, presenting certificates and mementos to the panelists as a token of gratitude for their patient and active assessment of the dissertations and presentations.

On 3rd May 2020, Yonphula Centenary College organized an International Webinar titled “Covid-19 and Its Impact on the Geo-Politics of Knowledge Production.” The Webinar was facilitated by Prof. Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni from the University of South Africa and Prof. Prasenjit Biswas from North-East Hill University. The reflections centered on how the biomedical crisis of Covid-19 has opened up multiple forms of narratives based on race, class, caste, community and gender. The speakers presented their arguments from their respective geo-political vantage points and tried to socio-historically locate the reasons behind the various existential pandemics within a pandemic.

Twenty-nine students of the second batch of MA in English programme offered at Yonphula Centenary College were awarded graduation certificates on the second graduation day held on Friday, the 13th December 2019 at the Lecture Theatre of Sherubtse College campus. The Graduation Day program was graced by the humble presence of the Chief Guest, DashoDzongda of Trashigang Dzongkhag. Mr. TsheringWangdi, President of Sherubtse and YCC delivered a warm welcome address which traced the visionary establishment, remarkable growth and the enviable achievement of Yonphula Centenary College on its second Graduation Day. The earnest words shared by the President follows:

“For the last 17 years, I have spent some of the best moments in Sherubtse College and Yonphula Centenary College. I woke up every day with the hope for this beautiful day. I feel extremely happy to see so many wonderful students graduating and adding to the cultural diversity of the country as teachers. We also hope to engage with you as alumni in the near future. I feel extremely proud to be a part of this wonderful team.”

Further, he expressed his happiness by saying that the passing out of MA graduates would make a big difference in the lives of the younger generations.

The Chief Guest, DashoDzongda, was reminiscent of how Yonphula has been a centre of action and attraction for nation-building with unique contributions from various academic and non-academic staffs. The Dasho described the establishment of the college as a pivotal move and he expressed his heartfelt congratulations to the institute and the professors for their efforts and everlasting contribution to the graduates of young and highly enthusiastic teachers. He also congratulated the graduates for having successfully gone through an important phase that laid a foundation for life-long learning. He beseeched the graduates to share everything that they have learned with the younger generations and keep up the good work as nation builders.

After his impactful lecture, Bhutan’s traditional dance was presented by the cultural group of students from Sherubtse College. Their aesthetic performance was a feast for the senses and enhanced the celebrative mood.

The performance was followed by two representative student graduates who reflected on the path of learning with gratitude to the professors who made a difference in the lives of the graduating students. Mr. Sherab Tenzin (in English) and Mr. PeldenDorji (in Dzongkha) reflected on the rich experience gained during the course of studies, and expressed gratitude to the government for having provided a very rewarding opportunity to the in-service teachers to complete their higher studies.

The touching reflections were followed by a very captivating fusion dance, which was performed based on a medley of various Bhutanese songs, by the undergraduate girls of Sherubtse College.

Then came the climactic moment for all the graduating students when they were invited on the stage and presented with transcript, provisional certificate and mementoes by the chief guest and the president.

After the completion of certificate distribution, the conference proceedings based on the-International Conference that was held in Sherubtse College from 19th to 20th April 2018, was launched by the chief guest and the president. Then, the chief guest presented the outgoing class representatives with mementoes.

It was once again followed by scintillating traditional dance performance by the undergraduate students of Sherubtse College.

Then, the chief guest awarded the medals and certificate of merits and achievement; certificates for semester toppers and student leaders, gold and silver medals with certificates for overall academic excellence and the President’s medal for the best graduating student.

Details of Awards and Toppers:

1. Certificates for Semester Academic Toppers:

2. Medal with a certificate for Overall Academic Excellence representing the weighted scores 20:30:50

a.         Gold medal bagged (Overall Topper) by Miss Chimi Dema.

b.         Silver medal bagged by Miss Malati Sunar.

3. Certificate for student leaders: Mr. Sherab Tenzin and Mrs. Tshewang Lhamo.

4. Certificate of appreciation for the best dissertation to Miss Chimi Dema

Finally, the vote of thanks was proposed by Dr S. Chitra, Programme Leader, Yonphula Centenary College, Bhutan who congratulated all the graduating students for their excellent academic performance.

The memorable second Graduation Day ceremony ended with a celebratory TashiLebay and scrumptious lunch.

From 3rd to 7th December 2019, Yonphula Centenary College witnessed another academic milestone, as 29 graduating students of MA in English of the second cohort presented their final dissertations from 3rd to 5th December, and 15 students undergoing MA in English of the third cohort presented their research proposals on 6th and 7th December. The three esteemed panellists, Dr.Asis De, Associate Professor and Head, Department of English, Mahishadal Raj College, West Bengal; Dr.Baburam Swami, HOD English, Maharaja Bir Bikram College, Tripura and Professor ShatruddhaTomar, Colombo Plan Lecturer, Media Programme, Sherubtse College, graced the academic session. The five day academic event was flagged off by the Officiating President of Sherubtse College, Dr.Yezer Drukpa, who spoke on the importance of research and congratulated the research supervisors and scholars for successfully completing the research proposals and dissertations. He also extended warm welcome to the panellists who played a pivotal role in giving their best judgment to the academic learning outcome of the scholars. The college exuded both tensed and happy atmosphere, as students followed their sequence for presentation and defence. The panellists not only asked questions for justifications and clarifications, but also provided their feedbacks and recommendations for improvement on content, organization, language and technical aspects of the research. Amidst solemn atmosphere, there were also occasional breaks full of lively interactions among the faculty members, panellists and research scholars. The literary researches were done on a range of topics and themes, of which most of them were appreciated by the panellists. Besides literary research and proposals, seven students have engaged with social and action researches.

The President of Sherubtse College presided over on the final day of the research proposals defence. The research coordinator, Dr.P.Baburaj thanked the panel members for having taken great pain to go through research documents, and for providing honest feedbacks and recommendations in order to strengthen the dissertations and extend the research proposals to produce comprehensively and critically written dissertations by June, 2020. The research coordinator advised the students to take all the positive comments and feelings that have been generated during their academic journey and to inculcate all the knowledge derived during the eighteen months’ course while taking another vertical journey. The Programme Leader, Dr. S. Chitra welcomed the President, Professor BalaMurugan, Deputy Dean of Sherubtse College, Mr. Tshering Thinley, Dean of Yonphula Centenary College, who made their presence on the final day of research proposal presentations and thanked everyone who were a part of “five days’ rigorous academic exercise having enriching learning experience for students and supervisors.” She personally thanked the panellists for “content-specific questions and valuable suggestions with extremely insightful comments, for observation into language aspects of the proposals and dissertations, and for pin-pointing the technical aspects when it comes to objectives, research questions, methodology and theoretical paradigms of research which benefited everyone immensely.” She also thanked the research coordinator for meticulous planning and execution of five days’ annual programme successfully. Finally, she expressed her appreciation and thankfulness to every student for successfully completing their proposals and dissertations and for having taken great effort to present their proposals and dissertations.

The President offered TashiKhadars and awarded mementos and certificates to the panellists followed by an emotional applause. The programme successfully came to an end with a group photo session.