ICT curriculum In Bhutan
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is crucial for realising the national vision of transforming Bhutan into an IT enabled knowledge based society.
Ministry of Education trained 4,817 teachers and equipped 168 schools with computer laboratories. It set up seven labs across Bhutan to train teachers in basic ICT skills and methods of integrating ICT in the teaching and learning process, one of the aims of the Chiphen Rigphel project. This is expected to encourage students to increasingly use ICT in school and at home. The success of any knowledge based society depends largely on the quality of its teachers and students.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has brought significant changes in almost all aspects of our lives — more so in recent years — and its pace of development shows no sign of slowing down; it is indeed developing faster than ever before.
During the 14th Convocation of the Royal University of Bhutan in May, 2019, His Majesty The King shared his concerns about the dramatic changes brought about by the emerging technology — its scale of growth and scope, and the consequences of lagging behind. If we are not able to embrace and leverage technology, we will be invariably left behind.
Technology has a huge potential to enhance quality and access to education, create jobs, ensure good governance with effective and efficient delivery of services, develop and grow the private sector, and enhance accountability and transparency. It is driven by new developments, such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Blockchain, Machine Learning, Big Data, IOT (the Internet of Things), Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, etc..
Realising the huge opportunity that technology brings, and guided by His Majesty’s vision, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has been working to enhance ICT in the Bhutanese education system.
One of the biggest developments in ICT education came with the Chiphen Rigpel Project, run by the Ministry of Information and Communications and NIIT India. The project established computer labs in 168 schools, introduced ICT literacy curriculum for all students from class VII and above, and trained more than 5,000 teachers in basic ICT skills.
