Looking at Education in Bhutan: a View from Afar

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 of New England in Armidale has been part of the continuing story of development of Bhutanese education. We learned a lot from the batches of multi-grade teachers and the many post-grads who had been with us over the years and I think that we were able to contribute ideas and practices. But there is still much to be done.

Much of what follows takes its ideas from the writers in the book that Matthew Schuelka and I edited in 2016. There are four sections, each of which addresses a key issue that is forward looking, and that intends to empower education in the longer term.