UN Secretary-General Commissions Meeting

The UNs Global Education Initiative has three priorities; to put every child in
school, to improve the quality learning, and to foster global citizenship. The country
of Bhutan has definitely upheld the priorities that the UNs Global Education Initiative
has set in place. Although Bhutan has improved educational access tremendously,
there can still be more to improve in the three areas emphasized by the UN.
One of the main priorities of the UN is to put every child in school. In Bhutan,
education was originally religious, having only monastic institutions until around the
1950s. Today there are now 552 formal schools and institutions in the country
(Teaching in Bhutan, 2015). The amount of educational institutions have risen, along
with the enrollment of students age 6 and over. According to the Bhutan Canada
Foundation school weeks for boarding schools are typically, Monday to Friday with a
half day on Saturday, which is often reserved for club activities and events,
(Teaching in Bhutan, 2015). These school have about eight classes and a lunch break
as well. When children are in school, they are taken care of. The one thing that we
could look more closely at is the school enrollment. Although enrollment is at 106.6%
in Bhutan, it has decreased in just one year (Figure 1). From 2012-2013, Bhutans
gross enrollment has gone down by almost 6%, being near the same school enrollment
as their population with low/middle income. South Asias gross enrollment has also
gone down as well, but only by 0.1%. (Figure 1). I believe that although Bhutans
poverty levels have slightly increased, it has affected the enrollment of primary
school enrollment within the country.

The quality of education in Bhutan has grown since the enforcement of it when
King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck required that primary schools be taught in English
(Teaching in Bhutan, 2015). Because of the high quality institutions in India, the King
recruited teachers from these institutions as well as others to begin a high quality
educational system in Bhutan. With this, more quality educational institutions were
created, making educational availability easier. Unfortunately in Bhutan, there is still
about 12% of the population who live in poverty (Figure 2). Due to the recent decline
in educational enrollment in the country, there is a possibility that the children and
adults who live in poverty may not be in school due to educational costs such as
books. Also, due to the focus on primary education in the country, Bhutan has a very
low early childhood education focus, leaving children between 0 and 6 years old to
still be behind in their personal and educational skills. Programs such as the Save the
Childrens Early Childhood Care and Development program help make resources for
children and parents accessible. The ECCD centers, include play and learning
materials, and curriculum and training manuals for both students and parents,
(2015).
Bhutan has definitely improved in fostering a global citizenship. I believe that
recruiting teachers from other countries with higher quality educational institutions
helped a lot with this transition. Not only do these experienced teachers know what a
high quality curriculum looks like, they can bring their knowledge of the world to
students who may have little access to that knowledge in the classroom. Bhutan has
become more involved and in-tune with the world around them, and have even
planned amazing events in support of education in the country. The Bhutan Chamber

of Commerce and Industry has set up and International Education Fair, which happens
annually, to provide timely and valuable information on educational programs in
various countries and bring together consumers, providers and stakeholders of the
education sector, (2015). Bhutan has done a tremendous job at upholding the three
main priorities provided by the UN to improve the educational goals.

Works Cited
5th Bhutan International Education Fair 2015. (2014, December 19). Retrieved July 30, 2015,
from http://www.bcci.org.bt/blog/2014/12/19/5th-bhutan-international-education-fair-2015/
Early Childhood Development. (2015). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from
https://bhutan.savethechildren.net/about-us/early-childhood-development
Poverty Headcount Ratio At National Poverty Lines (% of population). (2015). Retrieved July 30,
2015, from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC/countries/BT?display=graph
School Enrollment, Primary (% gross). (2015). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.ENRR/countries/BT-8S-XN?display=graph
Teaching in Bhutan. (2015). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from
http://teachinbhutan.org/teach/teaching-in-bhutan/?
doing_wp_cron=1438290770.1046159267425537109375