The ‘Land of Thunder’ known as ‘Bhutan’ was closed to the outside world for centuries. Since the 60s and 70s, however, it has embraced Westernization in its own unique way. For example, its Gross National Happiness philosophy is a carefully crafted framework that guides the nation’s government to regularly monitor the overall well-being and sustainable development of its citizens.
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation shares that the general literacy rate here is 71.4%, and that modern education, which was fully embraced only after the 50s (until then, the region was mostly dependent on monastic education), is “the great equalizer, responsible. Lifting the underprivileged out of poverty and improving their chances of success in adulthood.
Many of us may not know that the Indian state of Kerala played a significant role in making this modern education system the way we know it today. In fact, V Shanthakumar and Phuntso Choden wrote this 2018 paper for Azim Premji University and said, “Almost everyone above 25-30 years (in Bhutan) has been taught by one or the other teacher from Kerala.”
Bhutan before 1960
Until the 1960s, Bhutanese students often had Buddhist monasteries for private education. While the children of diplomats and royalty were sent to India and Europe for education, the rest of the population depended mostly on religious education.
“In the early fifties, the ruling dynasty felt the need to modernize the country’s education, even as it wanted to continue keeping Bhutan apart from the rest of the world,” wrote author Ajay Kamalakaran. onmanorma. “The first step was to establish Hindi medium schools in the country and to adopt the almost entirely Indian system from neighboring West Bengal.”
William McKee, a Jesuit priest, is credited in the book with establishing Bhutan’s modern education system. Call: Stories from the Past, “The second King Jigme Dorjee established 7 to 10 Hindi medium schools in Bumthang, Ha, Wangdi, Tasigang, Damphu and Paro. This was the beginning of our current Bhutanese education system.”
McKee also noted that the third king, Ugen Dorjee Wangchuck, wanted to establish English-medium schools, for which the government approached the Jesuits at St. Joseph’s College, North Point, Darjeeling in 1962. Kamalakaran assumes the proximity of the two realms. In culture and geography – made it convenient.
Meanwhile, McKee credited the then Secretary of the Development Ministry, Leonpo Dawa Tshiring, for gradually replacing English textbooks with Hindi. “His Majesty and the late Prime Minister asked me to establish an English medium education system based on the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. Mr. Rustamji, the then political officer of Bhutan, had promised to affiliate our high schools with the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education,” he said.
The Making of Modern Education
In 1962, Chiring, impressed by the quality of the primary education system in Kerala, went on a recruitment tour to the southern region. He recruited 20 teachers and returned to south-eastern Bhutan. These 20 teachers would later become pioneers of the country’s modern education system.
“They reached Samdrap Dzongkhar, where they were given rations and a small amount of money. They started walking (there were no roads in the east), from village to village. Mackey wrote. “(Tsering) left two teachers in each school. He said he would pick them up after 10 months. Some of these, like Mr. and Mrs. R. Krishnan, recently retired.
Teachers walked miles in freezing temperatures to meet in towns like Luentse, 452 km from the capital Thimphu. “These were very dedicated, sincere teachers, who sacrificed their entire lives for the education of Bhutan. Their contribution to our present education system in the early years was enormous. Without their dedicated and sincere teaching in isolated difficult rural areas, Bhutan would never have reached the present high level of education in interior schools. Can’t,” Mackey added.
The teachers helped build the school from the ground up with the help of students and locals. A makeshift classroom with a bamboo and straw roof became a sanctuary for eager students. Students also helped teachers prepare food for them. Written by Kamalakaran, “Children were sent to collect firewood for simple porridge and vegetables. When the latter was not in supply, children and teachers collected wild ferns.
Jigme Jangpo, one of the first students of Kerala teachers, recalled in Prakashan that after their arrival, the education system began to include physical training, drama and cultural activities in its curriculum.
In 2014, the current king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, commented, “India has always played an important role in education in Bhutan. Bhutanese youth regularly study in Indian institutions and, in turn, impart their knowledge to Bhutan as well.
‘manna’
the call PB Nair, M Prasad, GB Kurup, MKG Kaimal and R Shivdasan, Mr. and Mrs. R. Krishnan are some of the 20 teachers who went to Bhutan.
Prasad, who has lived in the country for 11 years, said, ‘While staying in the inspector’s office for 11 years, I got to know the people, culture, traditions and their lifestyle in detail in urban, rural and remote areas. manner.”
It also details Kurup’s 26-year stay in the country.
In 1962, Kurup reached his school in Trongsa at night after walking for 10 days. Suffering from bad knees and overwhelmed by the isolation of the small village, he began to wonder if he had made the right choice to leave his high-paying job to teach in this remote area.
A short time later, he was awakened by two children – a boy and a girl – knocking on his door. They gave him water, red rice and a kettle ema datshi (National dish of Bhutan). “I gratefully accepted the ‘manna’. I tried to thank them. They continued their laughter. They said something. I didn’t understand the language, but I understood the meaning. ‘Sir, as long as we are here, you don’t have to worry’. Language cannot create a barrier between love and affection.
Kurup commented, “I had to fight back my tears of joy. I changed my mind. I will work for these kids. I will give everything I have to make them better people (sic).
Edited by Divya Sethu