Education in Bhutan
 |  |  |  |  |  |
Western-style education was introduced to Bhutan during the reign of Ugyen Wangchuck (1907-26).
Until the 1950s, the only formal education available to Bhutanese students, except for private
schools in Ha and Bumthang, was through Buddhist monasteries. In the 1950s, several private
secular schools were established without government support, and several others were established
in major district towns with government backing. By the late 1950s, there were twenty-nine
government and thirty private primary schools, but only about 2,500 children were enrolled.
Secondary education was available only in India. Eventually, the private schools were taken under
government supervision to raise the quality of education provided. Although some primary schools in
remote areas had to be closed because of low attendance, the most significant modern
developments in education came during the period of the First Development Plan (1961-66), when
some 108 schools were operating and 15,000 students were enrolled.
The First Development Plan provided for a central education authority--in the form of a director of
education appointed in 1961--and an organized, modern school system with free and universal
primary education. Since that time, following one year of preschool begun at age four, children
attended school in the primary grades--one through five. Education continued with the equivalent of
grades six through eight at the junior high level and grades nine through eleven at the high school
level. The Department of Education administered the All-Bhutan Examinations nationwide to
determine promotion from one level of schooling to the next. Examinations at the tenth-grade level
were conducted by the Indian School Certificate Council. The Department of Education also was
responsible for producing textbooks; preparing course syllabi and in-service training for teachers;
arranging training and study abroad; organizing interschool tournaments; procuring foreign
assistance for education programs; and recruiting, testing, and promoting teachers, among other
duties.
The core curriculum set by the National Board of Secondary Education included English,
mathematics, and Dzongkha. Although English was used as the language of instruction throughout
the junior high and high school system, Dzongkha and, in southern Bhutan until 1989, Nepali, were
compulsory subjects. Students also studied English literature, social studies, history, geography,
general science, biology, chemistry, physics, and religion. Curriculum development often has come
from external forces, as was the case with historical studies. Most Bhutanese history is based on
oral traditions rather than on written histories or administrative records. A project sponsored by the
United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the University of
London developed a ten-module curriculum, which included four courses on Bhutanese history and
culture and six courses on Indian and world history and political ideas. Subjects with an immediate
practical application, such as elementary agriculture, animal husbandry, and forestry, also were
taught.
Bhutan's coeducational school system in 1988 encompassed a reported 42,446 students and 1,513
teachers in 150 primary schools, 11,835 students and 447 teachers in 21 junior high schools, and
4,515 students and 248 teachers in 9 high schools. Males accounted for 63 percent of all primary
and secondary students. Most teachers at these levels--70 percent--also were males. There also
were 1,761 students and 150 teachers in technical, vocational, and special schools in 1988.
Despite increasing student enrollments, which went from 36,705 students in 1981 to 58,796
students in 1988, education was not compulsory. In 1988 only about 25 percent of
primary-school-age children attended school, an extremely low percentage by all standards.
Although the government set enrollment quotas for high schools, in no instance did they come close
to being met in the 1980s. Only about 8 percent of junior high-school-age and less than 3 percent of
high-school-age children were enrolled in 1988.
Bhutan's literacy rate in the early 1990s, estimated at 30 percent for males and 10 percent for
females by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ranked lowest among all least
developed countries. Other sources ranked the literacy rate as low as 12 to 18 percent.
Some primary schools and all junior high and high schools were boarding schools. The school year
in the 1980s ran from March through December. Tuition, books, stationery, athletic equipment, and
food were free for all boarding schools in the 1980s, and some high schools also provided clothing.
With the assistance of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's World Food
Programme, free midday meals were provided in some primary schools.
Higher education was provided by Royal Bhutan Polytechnic just outside the village of Deothang,
Samdrup Jongkhar District, and by Kharbandi Technical School in Kharbandi, Chhukha District.
Founded in 1973, Royal Bhutan Polytechnic offered courses in civil, mechanical, and electrical
engineering; surveying; and drafting. Kharbandi Technical School was established in the 1970s with
UNDP and International Labour Organisation assistance. Bhutan's only junior college--Sherubtse
College in Kanglung, Tashigang District-- was established in 1983 as a three-year degree-granting
college affiliated with the University of Delhi. In the year it was established with UNDP assistance,
the college enrolled 278 students, and seventeen faculty members taught courses in arts, sciences,
and commerce leading to a bachelor's degree. Starting in 1990, junior college classes also were
taught at the Yanchenphug High School in Thimphu and were to be extended to other high schools
thereafter.
Education programs were given a boost in 1990 when the Asian Development Bank granted a
US$7.13 million loan for staff training and development, specialist services, equipment and furniture
purchases, salaries and other recurrent costs, and facility rehabilitation and construction at Royal
Bhutan Polytechnic. The Department of Education and its Technical and Vocational Education
Division were given a US$750,000 Asian Development Bank grant for improving the technical,
vocational, and training sectors. The New Approach to Primary Education, started in 1985, was
extended to all primary and junior high schools in 1990 and stressed self-reliance and awareness
of Bhutan's unique national culture and environment.
Most Bhutanese students being educated abroad received technical training in India, Singapore,
Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), and the
United States. English-speaking countries attracted the majority of Bhutanese students. The vast
majority returned to their homeland.
Until the 1950s, the only formal education available to Bhutanese students, except for private
schools in Ha and Bumthang, was through Buddhist monasteries. In the 1950s, several private
secular schools were established without government support, and several others were established
in major district towns with government backing. By the late 1950s, there were twenty-nine
government and thirty private primary schools, but only about 2,500 children were enrolled.
Secondary education was available only in India. Eventually, the private schools were taken under
government supervision to raise the quality of education provided. Although some primary schools in
remote areas had to be closed because of low attendance, the most significant modern
developments in education came during the period of the First Development Plan (1961-66), when
some 108 schools were operating and 15,000 students were enrolled.
The First Development Plan provided for a central education authority--in the form of a director of
education appointed in 1961--and an organized, modern school system with free and universal
primary education. Since that time, following one year of preschool begun at age four, children
attended school in the primary grades--one through five. Education continued with the equivalent of
grades six through eight at the junior high level and grades nine through eleven at the high school
level. The Department of Education administered the All-Bhutan Examinations nationwide to
determine promotion from one level of schooling to the next. Examinations at the tenth-grade level
were conducted by the Indian School Certificate Council. The Department of Education also was
responsible for producing textbooks; preparing course syllabi and in-service training for teachers;
arranging training and study abroad; organizing interschool tournaments; procuring foreign
assistance for education programs; and recruiting, testing, and promoting teachers, among other
duties.
The core curriculum set by the National Board of Secondary Education included English,
mathematics, and Dzongkha. Although English was used as the language of instruction throughout
the junior high and high school system, Dzongkha and, in southern Bhutan until 1989, Nepali, were
compulsory subjects. Students also studied English literature, social studies, history, geography,
general science, biology, chemistry, physics, and religion. Curriculum development often has come
from external forces, as was the case with historical studies. Most Bhutanese history is based on
oral traditions rather than on written histories or administrative records. A project sponsored by the
United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the University of
London developed a ten-module curriculum, which included four courses on Bhutanese history and
culture and six courses on Indian and world history and political ideas. Subjects with an immediate
practical application, such as elementary agriculture, animal husbandry, and forestry, also were
taught.
Bhutan's coeducational school system in 1988 encompassed a reported 42,446 students and 1,513
teachers in 150 primary schools, 11,835 students and 447 teachers in 21 junior high schools, and
4,515 students and 248 teachers in 9 high schools. Males accounted for 63 percent of all primary
and secondary students. Most teachers at these levels--70 percent--also were males. There also
were 1,761 students and 150 teachers in technical, vocational, and special schools in 1988.
Despite increasing student enrollments, which went from 36,705 students in 1981 to 58,796
students in 1988, education was not compulsory. In 1988 only about 25 percent of
primary-school-age children attended school, an extremely low percentage by all standards.
Although the government set enrollment quotas for high schools, in no instance did they come close
to being met in the 1980s. Only about 8 percent of junior high-school-age and less than 3 percent of
high-school-age children were enrolled in 1988.
Bhutan's literacy rate in the early 1990s, estimated at 30 percent for males and 10 percent for
females by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ranked lowest among all least
developed countries. Other sources ranked the literacy rate as low as 12 to 18 percent.
Some primary schools and all junior high and high schools were boarding schools. The school year
in the 1980s ran from March through December. Tuition, books, stationery, athletic equipment, and
food were free for all boarding schools in the 1980s, and some high schools also provided clothing.
With the assistance of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's World Food
Programme, free midday meals were provided in some primary schools.
Higher education was provided by Royal Bhutan Polytechnic just outside the village of Deothang,
Samdrup Jongkhar District, and by Kharbandi Technical School in Kharbandi, Chhukha District.
Founded in 1973, Royal Bhutan Polytechnic offered courses in civil, mechanical, and electrical
engineering; surveying; and drafting. Kharbandi Technical School was established in the 1970s with
UNDP and International Labour Organisation assistance. Bhutan's only junior college--Sherubtse
College in Kanglung, Tashigang District-- was established in 1983 as a three-year degree-granting
college affiliated with the University of Delhi. In the year it was established with UNDP assistance,
the college enrolled 278 students, and seventeen faculty members taught courses in arts, sciences,
and commerce leading to a bachelor's degree. Starting in 1990, junior college classes also were
taught at the Yanchenphug High School in Thimphu and were to be extended to other high schools
thereafter.
Education programs were given a boost in 1990 when the Asian Development Bank granted a
US$7.13 million loan for staff training and development, specialist services, equipment and furniture
purchases, salaries and other recurrent costs, and facility rehabilitation and construction at Royal
Bhutan Polytechnic. The Department of Education and its Technical and Vocational Education
Division were given a US$750,000 Asian Development Bank grant for improving the technical,
vocational, and training sectors. The New Approach to Primary Education, started in 1985, was
extended to all primary and junior high schools in 1990 and stressed self-reliance and awareness
of Bhutan's unique national culture and environment.
Most Bhutanese students being educated abroad received technical training in India, Singapore,
Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), and the
United States. English-speaking countries attracted the majority of Bhutanese students. The vast
majority returned to their homeland.
|
|