UCSB’s Gevirtz School a Partner in Education Reform in Bhutan

A groundbreaking endeavor aims to change the country's 1,000-year-old education system.

By Sonia Fernandez, Noozhawk Staff Writer | Published on 11.08.2008

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UCSB’s Gevirtz School of Education and the Bhutan Royal Education Council are partnering up on an endeavor that will change the entire educational system in the small country.

Sandwiched between India and Tibet, the Bhutanese highlands are said to have been inhabited since 2000 B.C. Buddhism came via Tibet in the early 7th century. The education remains largely monastic, largely geared toward those headed for the monastery.

All of that’s going to change, as the country’s fifth king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, who has been democratizing his country since coming into power in 2006, is also pushing for an educational reform that will bring Bhutan’s system into the modern age.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” Gevirtz Dean Jane Close Conoley said. The members of the royal council that recently visited Harding and Peabody Charter schools last week, as well as UCSB classes focused on English and technology, are looking for best practices to bring back to Bhutan.

The Gevirtz School is only one of several partners likely to be recruited in this endeavor, a plan that aims to create “model schools” out of the approximately 500 schools in the kingdom. Plans are afoot to send a handful of grad students regularly to teach in the country for one or two years, and to analyze the education system in Bhutan to see how it can be changed accordingly. The program will be monitored in the long run through an alliance with the Royal Education Council. The program is expected to run 15 to 20 years.

“It takes a long time to reform a 1,000-year-old system,” Conoley said.

UCSB’s participation began as an attempt by the chairwoman of the dean’s council, Peggy Lamb, to fulfill a request to help find a teacher for a remote town she was visiting.

Members of the Bhutan Royal Education Council and UCSB's Gevirtz School of Education include, from left, Sangay Jamtsho, Tashi Wangyal, Gyaltshen Penjor, Dean Jane Close Conoley and Chencho Lhamu.
Members of the Bhutan Royal Education Council and UCSB’s Gevirtz School of Education include, from left, Sangay Jamtsho, Tashi Wangyal, Gyaltshen Penjor, Dean Jane Close Conoley and Chencho Lhamu. (UCSB Gevirtz School of Education photo)
“My guide, Karma Lotey, said that the village had a school, but children in the area had to walk miles to get there,” Lamb said. There were two teachers for the 300 students who attended that school, she said.

It was an idea that took off almost from the start with Lamb and colleague Ann Lippincott, assistant director of the Gevirtz teacher education program, pushing it along. According to Conoley, a memorandum of understanding is in the works.

It’s still an uphill climb: funding for the endeavor comes from the university’s international outreach funds, but the rest will have to come from a combination of Bhutanese state funds and a combination of fundraising from U.S. and Bhutanese counterparts.

“Right now, the plan is for the teacher to get there on their own,” Lamb said. Once there, the new teacher will be given housing and a salary of 10,000 Nu ($250) a month. Eventually, Lamb wants to establish a scholarship that would fund the travel expenses. Other plans include a student and professor exchange.

What UCSB gets in return, Conoley said, is the opportunity for Gevirtz grad students to immerse themselves in a new and different culture. Bhutan was recently listed as the eighth happiest country in the world, with a culture dedicated to “Gross National Happiness,” the result of a balance between economic development and general happiness and peace in the country. It’s an experience, she says, that could deepen the quality of education in both Bhutan and the United States.

Those interested in helping fund the endeavor should contact Wes Gibson, Gevirtz’s director of development, at 805.893.7965 or wes@education.ucsb.edu.

Write to sfernandez@noozhawk.com

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» Fan of Bhutan on 11.09.08 @ 09:24 AM

Let’s hope the grad students learn a great deal about Gross National Happiness, and teach about it across the nation when they return from their amazing opportunity to learn at least as much as they teach.

» Culture Fan on 11.14.08 @ 12:42 AM

Wow! This sounds like a fantastic program and one that I would love to participate in were I a graduate student. I’m proud to live in a community where cross-cultural programs like this are taking place and I look forward to hearing more about it. Thanks, Ms. Fernandez, for the report.

» Bhutan on 07.17.09 @ 04:30 PM

How gracious of Peggy lamb to initiate such a good deed together for Bhutan. The program will definitely benefit both sides tremendrously and enhance the Gross National Happiness of the people involved.

Good luck in this endeavor.

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