Education in Bhutan
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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.
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.
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