Education in Bhutan

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Western-style education was introduced to Bhutan during the reign of Ugyen Wangchuck (1907–26).^[1] Until the 1950s, the only formal education available to Bhutanese students, except for private schools in Ha and Bumthang, was through Buddhist monasteries.^[1] In the 1950s, several private secular schools were established without government support, and several others were established in major district towns with government backing.^[1] By the late 1950s, there were twenty-nine government and thirty private primary schools, but only about 2,500 children were enrolled.^[1] Secondary education was available only in India.^[1] Eventually, the private schools were taken under government supervision to raise the quality of education provided.^[1] Although some primary schools in remote areas had to be closed because of low attendance, the most significant modern developments in education came during the period of the First Development Plan (1961–66), when some 108 schools were operating and 15,000 students were enrolled.^[1]

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI)^[2] finds that Bhutan is fulfilling only 73.1% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income.^[3] HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration Bhutan's income level, the nation is achieving 73.8% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education but only 72.5% for secondary education.^[4]