Bhutan's Education City
Sunday, 14 November 2010
WINTER is descending upon the Himalayas and our northern neighbour Bhutan. Due to climate change the winter gets harsher in our country, but in the icy Himalayas it is getting more moderate. That is the effect of the world's changing weather pattern.
The kingdom plans to establish its first-ever university next spring for showcasing to the world the culture and heritage of Bhutan from a city dedicated to education.
Jigme Thinly, the Prime Minister of Bhutan, recently submitted the blueprint for the education city the works on which will start when the icy winter ends. Some scholars had proposed that Bhutan could be the venue of the SAARC University. But as the proposal was first mooted by the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, everybody agreed that the main campus could be located at New Delhi with outer campuses in all the six member countries of SAARC.
One cannot ignore the fact that India has 371 universities, Bangladesh 86, Nepal six and Bhutan none except Serbrook College in Eastern Bhutan. Most Bhutanese students study in India, Singapore and New Zealand and very few in Bangladesh. We know more about the countries in North America and Europe than our immediate neighbour, Bhutan, which was first to recognise our independence and share our birth pangs.
Though a number of Nepalese students study in our country hardly there are any Bhutanese students here. To escape the biting Himalaya winter some Bhutanese tourists visit Bangladesh, but ours travel to Singapore or Bangkok. This gap can be narrowed only by education, cultural exchanges and promotion of tourism between the two countries.
We can learn much from each other. Kinga Tshering, the project co-ordinator of the education city, said that Bhutan's philosophy of gross national happiness, developed by former king and the father figure of the nation, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, would be the guiding principle of the university. Its primary concern would be environment, mutual understanding and world peace.
The city is aimed at making it the hub of amity between Asian countries, including India, China and Japan. But it would also aim at West Asian oil rich nations.
The Bhutanese government has allocated one thousand acres of land in Wangsisina near Thimphu, the capital of the land-locked country, for the purpose of the education city.
After launching of the project in 2011, construction works will start in 2012 and by 2013 the basic infrastructure will be completed. It will not be a typical university but a broader venue of understanding, mutual respect and stability, said Sonam Pelden, a journalist of Daily Kuentsel, the national daily of Bhutan.
He explained that the education city would in fact project the culture of Bhutan to the world. He used the term 'sell' Bhutan to the world.
Bhutan does not want to escape the modern world. Despite the fact that Bhutan's medium of education is English, most Bhutanese proudly speak Dzongkha, the national language. They wear traditional dress and eat nearly same kind of food. This social equality is the main factor in maintaining gross national happiness.
Bhutan believes political stability and guarantee of its frontiers are basic requirements for peace and peace should be the guiding force for harmony.
The education city will promote modern science and technology too, to create an environment-friendly world. But its major drive would be to adapt science and technology to Bhutan's particular needs.
Could not we learn from it?
The kingdom plans to establish its first-ever university next spring for showcasing to the world the culture and heritage of Bhutan from a city dedicated to education.
Jigme Thinly, the Prime Minister of Bhutan, recently submitted the blueprint for the education city the works on which will start when the icy winter ends. Some scholars had proposed that Bhutan could be the venue of the SAARC University. But as the proposal was first mooted by the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, everybody agreed that the main campus could be located at New Delhi with outer campuses in all the six member countries of SAARC.
One cannot ignore the fact that India has 371 universities, Bangladesh 86, Nepal six and Bhutan none except Serbrook College in Eastern Bhutan. Most Bhutanese students study in India, Singapore and New Zealand and very few in Bangladesh. We know more about the countries in North America and Europe than our immediate neighbour, Bhutan, which was first to recognise our independence and share our birth pangs.
Though a number of Nepalese students study in our country hardly there are any Bhutanese students here. To escape the biting Himalaya winter some Bhutanese tourists visit Bangladesh, but ours travel to Singapore or Bangkok. This gap can be narrowed only by education, cultural exchanges and promotion of tourism between the two countries.
We can learn much from each other. Kinga Tshering, the project co-ordinator of the education city, said that Bhutan's philosophy of gross national happiness, developed by former king and the father figure of the nation, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, would be the guiding principle of the university. Its primary concern would be environment, mutual understanding and world peace.
The city is aimed at making it the hub of amity between Asian countries, including India, China and Japan. But it would also aim at West Asian oil rich nations.
The Bhutanese government has allocated one thousand acres of land in Wangsisina near Thimphu, the capital of the land-locked country, for the purpose of the education city.
After launching of the project in 2011, construction works will start in 2012 and by 2013 the basic infrastructure will be completed. It will not be a typical university but a broader venue of understanding, mutual respect and stability, said Sonam Pelden, a journalist of Daily Kuentsel, the national daily of Bhutan.
He explained that the education city would in fact project the culture of Bhutan to the world. He used the term 'sell' Bhutan to the world.
Bhutan does not want to escape the modern world. Despite the fact that Bhutan's medium of education is English, most Bhutanese proudly speak Dzongkha, the national language. They wear traditional dress and eat nearly same kind of food. This social equality is the main factor in maintaining gross national happiness.
Bhutan believes political stability and guarantee of its frontiers are basic requirements for peace and peace should be the guiding force for harmony.
The education city will promote modern science and technology too, to create an environment-friendly world. But its major drive would be to adapt science and technology to Bhutan's particular needs.
Could not we learn from it?