Bhutan - Mode of Education

Prior to the 1960s, education was provided only by monasteries and religious leaders. Due to the impacts of globalisation, a modern, or ‘westernised’ style, of educational system was introduced in Bhutan after 1960. In the interim, more than 340 schools and institutions of higher education have been established, including over 150 community schools to serve remote rural areas. However, many of these schools have no sanitation facilities, electricity, or drinking water, and students may have to walk several hours a day to get to them. A growing number of children in Bhutan are attending school, but over 50% still do not attend. This is because unlike Singapore, education is not compulsory in Bhutan.

The educational system of Bhutan consists of seven years of primary schooling followed by four years of secondary school. 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. As mentioned, the language used to teach these subject is English.

The minimum official entry age into the formal education system is 6 at the Pre-Primary (PP) class. Primary schooling (PP-VI) is provided in the community primary, primary, lower secondary and in some of the middle secondary schools. At the end of Primary education, students appear for the national level All Bhutan Class Six Examinations conducted by the individual schools. The question papers are still prepared by the Bhutan Board of Examinations. Similar to Singapore, a Ministry of Education take charges of all education matters within Bhutan.

To sum up, I would like to give my two cents worth on the education system of Bhutan. I feel that although Bhutan is a ‘victim’ of globalization in terms of education-wise, they are still doing their best to preserve their nation’s culture by providing traditional monastic education to the public. Also, it is my opinion that there is a low percentage of children attending school because most of their parents are also not educated. Unlike Singapore and other first world countries, it is not Bhutan’s culture whereby a high education means good job prospect. Hence, most parents would rather keep their children at home and save on school fees and miscellaneous school-related fees.