Canada Fund Projects

First, historically Canada's links with the education sector in Bhutan have been very strong. Fr. W. Mackey, a Canadian Jesuit, assisted the Royal Government of Bhutan to establish a secular secondary school system. Father Mackey lived in Bhutan for more than thirty years and worked in the Education Division until his death in October 1995. Also more than 50 Canadians have taught in the schools of Bhutan and more than 60 Bhutanese educators have been studied in Canadian institutions.

Secondly, with the quickly expanding school system the needs in the education sector are enormous.

Over the last 15 years, approximately 2.1 million Canadian dollars has been disbursed through Canada Fund projects to support projects such as:

• the acquisition of library books, science equipment, blackboards, typewriters, duplicators, storage cupboards, furniture and fuel efficient cook stoves for rural primary schools throughout the country.
  
• the building and equipping of high school science labs.
  
• the building and renovating of the girl's dormitories at two institutions.
  
• in-service training for teachers and headmasters.
  production and printing of locally written textbooks.

In May of 1996 during the visit of the Canadian High Commissioner it was announced that the Canada Fund for Bhutan had been reinstated after a lapse of two years. Since then C$ 450,000 has been released to support 18 projects (BH56 to BH73).1

Canada funds other activities in Bhutan's education sector, which the Canada Fund compliments. One of the best examples of how the different forms of Canadian funding dove tail is our support to the Education Division in the area of curriculum development. Canada Fund projects have supported the purchase of computers so that educators (some of whom who studied in Canada at UNB) could develop appropriate textbooks for Bhutan. The printing of these textbooks and the provision of support material for activity-based learning has also been supported through the Canada Fund. Related to this is the UNB - Bhutan linkage project, which has been providing advisors to assist the Curriculum and Professional Support Section (CAPSS) as it develops new Geography and History curriculum for Bhutanese High Schools. Here again, the Canada Fund has supported the printing of these newly developed Class IX and X Bhutanese Geography and History books.