“How it all Began”

The story of the education system in Bhutan as recorded by Father Mackey

"Education is practically non-existent.”  In 1906, a British Military Intelligence Report recorded the state of literary in Bhutan. “Even amongst the ruling classes it is exceptional for one to find a man who can read and write.” The report states that the local rulers had to rely on court scribes to do their correspondence. 

According to this report, the only other literate people were the head monks but it labels the other monks as ignorant. “Lamas are also an ignorant lot, and only the headman or abbots have any pretension to learning.” 

The British report is wrong.  Many of the monks were educated.  It is likely that the British based the report on the process of learning in monasteries.  To this day, it is common for monks to memorise their text, which they do by sitting cross-legged, and reading the scriptures out loud and swaying their body front and back.  This must have created the impression that the monks were pretending to learn.  

But, from the British report, one thing that is clear is that in 1906, the Bhutanese in general could not read and write and there were no schools. 

The foundation of the modern education system was laid by the first king, built by the successive kings and assisted by many unsung heroes.

Father Mackey

One of the people who made an outstanding contribution was Father William Mackey S.J.

The Canadian Jesuit spent 32 (1963-1995) years in Bhutan helping improve the schools and building the educational system.  Two months before he died, in 1995, he wrote a brief history of modern education titled, ‘How it all Began,’ and the following article is based on his notes.

Monastic Education

Unlike the British Report, Father Mackey acknowledges the monasteries as seats of learning and the crucial role played by the monks in education.  Father confirms that the first schools in the country were in the monasteries. 

Father acknowledges the role of the King’s of Bhutan in building this important institution.  He said they took personal interest in the evolution of the education process and applauds them for their far sightedness.

For example, the first King, Ugyen Wangchuck (r.1907-1926) sent a batch of clever young monks to Tibet to study and, when they returned, made them teachers. 

Father said that these young monks spent 12 to 15 years in monasteries in Tibet to complete their education. The monks studied four subjects; astrology, mathematics, medicine and Choeke, the Tibetan religious language of the Buddhist books such as the Kanjur, Tenjur and Sungchen Thusum.  By the time they completed their education they had laid solid foundation in Buddhist studies and could impart the knowledge in the Bhutanese context.

The King’s scholars excelled in their studies and, when they returned home, were appointed as lopons or teachers in new centres of Bhutanese religious learning. 

The first King’s strategy of sending clever young monks to Tibet to be trained as teachers demonstrates not only the diplomatic brilliance, but reflects the King’s wisdom and farsightedness. 

By sending trainers of trainers to Tibet, it had to rely less on Buddhist institutions in Tibet for teachers and, as a result, the Tibetans could not influence the Bhutanese much. 

The consequence of this simple step in the education process was subtle, but the consequence could have been disastrous.  As a result Bhutan paid homage and never tribute; the former a mark of mutual respect as equals.  

Gomchens

In addition to the monks, the lay practitioners known as gomchens (married village clergy) played a crucial role in the early education system. 

So far, Father Mackey is the only one, who gives due respect to the gomchen, who played vital role in the community. 

Father rationalises: “In many villages, the gomchens taught small groups to read and write choeke. These groups had a tremendous influence on the local villagers. They were called upon to guide, encourage and help the local people in sickness, death, marriage and birth.” 

 The community respected the gomchens.  Because they were often married and had families, they could relate to the common people, and were also more accessible.  They were the protectors of local cultures, and responsibly for imbuing values in the society.

The Kings

In his notes Father explained that the first King had a school that travelled with his court around the country: “Like the monks, clever young men were selected by His Majesty and were given experience in dealing with money, solving local problems, directing villagers to take responsibility in improving the surroundings of the villages.” These men became the first local rulers and appointed, Dzongpons and Poenkhags.

The second King set up many schools throughout the country.  At that time, the schools were Hindi medium schools. “At that time Bhutan had some 20 Hindi/English Medium Primary Schools.” 

It was only during the third King’s (r.1952-1972) time that many of these schools were converted to English medium and based on the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. 

From Father’s Mackey’s un-published note, it is clear that the Bhutanese educational system was a well thought out one, and the result of the hard work of the kings and many unsung heroes.

Contributed by  Tshering Tashi