Bhutan's
Education and
Literacy
School
is not compulsory, but is free in Bhutan.
Up until the 1960s there hadn't been a formal
schooling system, apart from religious ones.
Unfortunately, the children in Bhutan do not
have easy access to schools, so attendance is
fairly low - with approximately 25% of the
children attending primary school and only 5%
attending secondary school in 1998. Within
these numbers, the ratio of boys attending
school is much higher than that of girls.
Bhutan
has some institutions of higher learning: a
four-year college, a junior college and two
technical schools. A lot of Bhutanese
students obtain grants to go overseas to the
United States, the United Kingdom, Australia,
Singapore, Japan and India to complete their
studies. Upon return to Bhutan, students
are briefed on the country's currents needs.
After this, the students are then required to
work in rural areas spending about six months or
so helping the villagers improve their way of
life by building schools, running medical
clinics and building irrigation systems.
Ethnic
groups:
|
Bhote
50%, ethnic Nepalese 35% (includes
Lhotsampas - one of several Nepalese
ethnic groups), indigenous or migrant
tribes 15%
|
|
Religions:
|
Lamaistic
Buddhist 75%, Indian- and
Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%
|
|
Languages:
|
Dzongkha
(official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan
dialects, Nepalese speak various
Nepalese dialects
|
|
Literacy:
|
definition:
age
15 and over can read and write
total
population: 47%
male:
60%
female:
34%
(2003 est.)
|
|
School
life expectancy (primary to tertiary
education):
|
total:
11
years
male:
12
years
female:
11
years (2008)
|
|
Education
expenditures:
|
5.1%
of GDP (2008)
country
comparison to the world:
63
|
|