Month: December 2019

People’s Democratic Party

Spring Edition , December 5th, 2019 Education for the 21st century and beyond PDP’s Prayers for Education Bhutan’s story of education is one of success. It has given us a proud nation and talented people. We have achieved 74 percent literacy rate with 99.8 percent primary enrolment. Our education continues to be forward looking –...

Druk Phuensum Tshogpa

Spring Edition , December 5th, 2019 The Removal of Cut off Point for Class X The cut off point is a certain percentage of marks set by the Bhutan Council for School Examination and Assessment (BCSEA) under the Ministry of Education for students sitting for the Bhutan Civil Service Examination (BCSE) in consonance with the...

Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa

Spring Edition , December 5th, 2019 Re-visiting and re-envisioning Bhutan’s education system in the 21st century: Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa on its education pledges Education is free in Bhutan which invests a large amount of money in education. According to a report by the World Bank (2019), Bhutan’s spending on education constituted 5.1 percent of Gross...

Bhutan Kuen-Nyam Party

Spring Edition , December 5th, 2019 Education – Transcending Your Own Domains The primary benefit of education, amongst a myriad of things, must be freedom. Freedom from poverty, freedom from ignorance, freedom from not having less, freedom from drudgery, emotional and psychological freedom, Freedom from the imagined order (social, economic and political constructs), and political ...

When Bhutanese Study Outside

Spring Edition , December 5th, 2019 For centuries, Bhutan remained remote from the rest of the world due both to its mountainous topography and its desire to protect itself from outside influence and interference. But in the last half of the 20th century the country began to permit, as well as to seek, more international...

Implication of Bhutanese Studying Outside

Spring Edition , December 5th, 2019 A Government Vision for Tertiary Education “Twenty years from now, we will be equipped with the full range of institutions required for the formation of the knowledge and skills required to sustain the nation’s further development. At the apex of our institutions of learning will be a well-equipped university...

Politics and Education Policy

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Broadly speaking, education, in itself, is a path towards a progressive human life. The Buddha viewed education as a path to human enlightenment, or liberation from repeated suffering. Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s eminent presidents, stated that education is central to creating an “enlightened citizenry… for the proper functioning...

Non-Formal Education – Learning Never Ceases

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Background The Non-Formal Education (NFE) programme in Bhutan was introduced in 1990. It was initiated by the National Women’s Association of Bhutan (NWAB) by Royal Command during the  53rd  National  Assembly,  mainly to empower Bhutanese women. Recognising its importance, the responsibility of overseeing the programme was entrusted to the...

Vocational Education in Bhutan

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Introduction The Royal Government of Bhutan accords the highest priority to the education sector as it believes that the country’s quality of health, prosperity, happiness and progression hinges on the quality of its education. In the early 1960s, modern education with English as the medium of instruction was introduced,...

The Value of Research Culture

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Introduction The two primary historic reasons for establishing institutions of higher education worldwide have been both a place of learning as well as a centre for generating new knowledge. This has been the case globally, and has its roots in a wide variety of philosophical traditions, from Buddhism to...

Mainstream School Education: a Critical Assessment

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 The pursuit of quality education in Bhutan dates back to the beginning of modern education system itself. All the Five-Year Plans, without exception, have devoted a section to the subject. And yet, after 60 years of development and reforms, quality education remains as elusive as ever. The notion of...

Finland’s Success in Education

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 On April 14, elections were held in Finland for the Parliament which is the supreme decision-making authority for national decision-making. The Finnish parliament is unicameral and has two hundred members who are elected for a term of four years. Currently, the members of the parliament belong to 11 parliamentary...

The Importance of Questioning

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 As educators we want motivated students who aspire to learn, not just in schools, but throughout their lives. If we want our students to be motivated to learn and perform well, wherever they go and whatever they do, it is high time we assess why we send our children...

Looking at Education in Bhutan: a View from Afar

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 I first worked in Bhutan in 1997 for the then Department of Education and have joined others in marvelling at the progress that has been made. Working alongside educators in the Ministry of Education and the two education colleges has been a privilege. Welcoming many Bhutanese to the University...

Educating for Happiness

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Introduction What is educating for happiness? It is certainly not cerebral studying of the four pillars, the nine domains, and the 72 plus indicators of Gross National Happiness (GNH). But many people may intuitively refer to the domains and pillars of GNH on encountering the above question. My doctoral...

Educating for Life

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 “At this moment in time, circa 2018, it is clearer than ever that a new approach to education is key to the survival of the world in general and of Bhutan in particular. This is no exaggeration. The world’s current education system is not only outdated and even obsolete...

Real Learning Endangered

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Reflections on nature, sanity, and education from an ashamed Indian well-wisher One of the similies for the Buddha Nature, or the basic goodness, that we are all said to possess is like pure gold that has been lost by the side of the road which then gradually accumulates so...

Buddhist Education in the 21st Century

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Introduction The world has seen unprecedented progress in the fields of science and technology, transforming life on a scale unimaginable a few decades ago. Nations across the globe are exploring ways to enhance human life and experience through innovative economic and social activities. Universities and other educational institutions are...

Editorial

Spring Edition , December 4th, 2019 Educating Bhutan – Nurturing a Society That Learns to Learn The theme for the Spring, 2019, issue of The Druk Journal reflects the long-term vision provided for Bhutan’s growth by His Majesty the King. On education, His Majesty said: “…as I serve my country, I have a number of...

Coneversation Report: Tourism in Bhutan

Conversation , December 2nd, 2019 The Conversation on “Tourism in Bhutan” was held on October 28, 2019 – attended by government officials, parliamentarians, political parties, media, CSOs, international agencies, independent observers, tour operators, hoteliers, guides association, travel agents. The Conversation is an informal exchange among people who care for Bhutan, who understand Bhutan’s interests,...