Men-Tsee-Khang marks 109th founding anniversary
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA 25 March: From operating at a loss to generating surplus revenue, Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical and Astro. Institute, has substantially reduced its outstanding payment from 330 million Indian rupees to 70 million Indian rupees.
“A significant amount from the outstanding payment of 330 million Indian rupees has been recuperated, and the deficit has now been reduced to 70 Million Rupees. The outstanding payment will also be cleared soon,” Thupten Tsering, the Executive Director of the institute said today at the 109th founding anniversary of Men-Tsee-Khang by the 13th Dalai Lama in Lhasa, Tibet in 1916 and the 64th anniversary of its re-establishment in exile at its headquarters here in Dharamsala.
Tsering further said that the Institution managed to generate more revenue than expenses in the last two fiscal years.
“In the fiscal year 2022-2023, there was a surplus of approximately 20 million Indian rupees and the fiscal year 2023-2024 saw a surplus of approximately 45 million Indian rupees”.
The founding anniversary also hosted the convocation ceremony of medical students from the 22nd batch and astrology students from the 12th batch. Students expressed a mixed feeling of happiness and apprehension on their graduation day, as the matter of their job placement – which has been previously granted by the institution to its students- remains uncertain.
“I studied for 5 years in this institution and I’m really grateful that I got enrolled because, at the time of my admission, there were so many students appearing for the entrance exam. Now that I have completed my course, I feel happy, but I am a little worried as to whether the institution will provide job placements to its students like it used to,” said Tenzin Tsekyi, an astrology student, to the Tibet Express.
“However, I will do my best to continue my astrology practice,” she added.
Pema Kyizom, another student from the department, said, “I am really happy that I graduated today and managed to secure third position, but at the same time, I am feeling a bit disheartened because it is not certain that the astrology students will get the jobs after studying and training for 5 years.”
“ Thinking about the next move keeps me wondering what I will do next? If job opportunities were guaranteed, the feeling today would be completely different”.
Though the institute was re-established on 23 March 1961 in exile by the 14th Dalai Lama in Dharamshala, the anniversary has been delayed till 25th March due to conflicts with the exam schedule.
