ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the historical journey of the Bhutanese education system, which may be distinguished based on three different mediums, namely, Choekey (Classical Tibetan Language) medium instruction (CMI), Hindi (an official language of India) medium instruction (HMI), and English medium instruction (EMI). CMI was used in monastic schools. The seed of modern education was sown late in Bhutan. Interestingly, despite its linguistic diversity, due to the lack of the required curriculum resources, HMI was adopted in Bhutanese schools. However, with the change in time and development, the government developed the formal education system in 1955, and in 1959, it was decided to provide free universal modern education. Before the institution of modern education, Bhutanese were sent to India for modern education. Modern education in Bhutan, at present, where EMI is used, has its standard on a par with any other country in the world. On the sideline of presenting the journey of EMI, the chapter also divulges other aspects, such as equity and access to education, enrolment, completion and transition rates, student-teacher ratio, educational facilities and support system, and, importantly, Gross National Happiness (GNH), as it is the essence and a unique attribute in the modern education system.
