Chapter 14 EDUCATION
249 99 736
88 362
37 29 3
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Summary of schools, institutes and centres 249 99 88 37 29 3 10 6 362 6 736
Community primary schools Primary schools Lower secondary schools Middle secondary schools Higher secondary schools Special institutes Tertiary education Vocational institute Monastic education institutes Day care centre Non formal centre
Until the late 1950s, only monastic education was available in the country. Those fortunate enough to live near Dzongs and monasteries could choose to send their sons for instruction by monks and gomchens (lay monks), who sought to enlighten their pupils not only by teaching reading and writing but also through instruction in poetry, ethics and morality. For the vast majority of people, education was either simply unavailable or a luxury that had no place in family survival strategies. Few Bhutanese were able to read and write, and most of those who could, were men. It was not until 1968 that the first 20 Bhutanese completed high school education within the country. While monastic education continues to play an important role in Bhutan, western education has been promoted and expanded since the first Five-Year Plan in 1961.The education structure today can be divided into general education, monastic education and non-formal education. However, general education is by far the biggest and is commonly seen as the
222 X FACTS ABOUT BHUTAN
Robert Dompnier
EDUCATION X
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