Ministry of Education

Thimphu : Bhutan

Education System in Bhutan  

Source : Education General Statistics 2004

Contents

• Growth in the modern education system

• General Education Curriculum

• Education Structure

• Schooling system

• Nomenclature for Schools

• Education Administration

Growth in the modern education system

Until the introduction of modern, western form of education in 1950s the only form of formal education available in Bhutan was monastic education. While monastic education continues to be an important part of the national culture, western education has been promoted and expanded since first Five Year Plan in 1961 to address the basic educational needs, and develop human resources required for the socio-economic development of the country.  Within a period of four decades, the government has been able to expand the modern education system from about 11 schools prior to the first Five Year Plan in 1961 to 447 schools and institutes in 2004, spanning from community primary schools to tertiary institutes. Fig. 1.1 (a) shows the progressive growth of the number of schools and institutes since the first Five year Plan.

At the same time the expansion of education system has been accompanied by a rapid growth in the enrolment of students as a result of the government’s commitment to education. From about 400 students in the early 60’s, total enrolment has increased in all levels of formal education and NFE centers to 155,234 by April 2004, reflecting a growth of 5.3% over the previous academic year. Among the factors responsible for the rising enrolment are increased awareness about the value of education among the parents and the government’s policy of ensuring that all the children are able to complete primary education within their geogs.    Fig. 1.1 (b) shows the progressive increase in enrolment in schools and institutes since the 1^st Five Year Plan.

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General Education Curriculum

The objective of the primary education in Bhutan is not only to equip the students with basic literacy and numeracy skills but also to impart knowledge of the country's history, geography and traditions. In addition, the functional skills such as fundamentals of agriculture, health and hygiene and population education have also been incorporated in the primary school curriculum. Over the years the moral science and value education are also being given special attention within the education programme.  All these are being provided within the framework of the new system of activity based learning, which has been adopted uniformly across the country.