Education Bill of Bhutan

The Education Bill of Bhutan is a proposed statute intended to provide a comprehensive legislative framework for Bhutan's school-education system, replacing the patchwork of executive orders, royal decrees, ministry circulars and isolated acts that currently govern the sector. The bill has been discussed in policy forums and Parliament since the late 2010s but, as of early 2026, has not been enacted.^[1]

The most recent significant push came on 17 June 2024, when the South Thimphu Member of the National Assembly moved a motion calling on the government to draft and table an Education Bill in Parliament. The motion was admitted for discussion under the National Assembly's procedural rules and prompted a debate on whether codifying the education system in statute would help to insulate it from short-term political shifts.^[2]

Bhutan is one of the few countries in South Asia that has not enacted a comprehensive education law. The Constitutional commitment under Article 9 — that the State shall provide free education up to Class X and endeavour to ensure free education up to Class XII — is operationalised through the executive branch and the Ministry of Education and Skills Development rather than through a single Act of Parliament.^[3]

Background

Education in Bhutan has historically been administered through royal kashos, executive orders and ministry-issued frameworks, supplemented by sector-specific acts such as the Tertiary Education Policy and the regulations governing the Royal University of Bhutan. By contrast, school education at the primary, lower secondary and secondary levels has lacked a single overarching statute setting out rights, duties, regulatory standards and institutional roles.^[4]

The first detailed proposal for an Education Bill emerged from work led by the Royal Education Council and from drafting exercises within the Ministry of Education during the late 2010s. The Council's role in curriculum development under the broader 2020 education-reform agenda raised the question of whether legislation was needed to provide a stable statutory anchor for reforms — including teacher professional standards, private-school regulation, school-leaving qualifications and the codification of universal free education through Class 12. A draft National Education Policy circulated in this period, but it remained a policy document rather than a statute.^[5]

2024 Motion

In June 2024 the South Thimphu MP submitted to the National Assembly that, in the absence of an Education Act, political parties were able to deploy the education system as a campaign issue, leading to inconsistent policies and erratic resource allocation. The mover argued that a statutory framework would protect long-term reforms from cycles of political change and would set out enforceable standards for schools, teachers and learners.^[2]

During the debate, members of the Assembly broadly supported the principle of an Education Act but were divided on its timing. The Minister for Education and Skills Development, Lyonpo Yeezang De Thapa, argued in response that introducing an extensive legislative framework would constrain ongoing reform activity and pointed to the upcoming National Education Policy 2024 and broader executive-level reforms as the immediate priority.^[1]

Reported Contents

Public reporting on the various drafts of the Education Bill — none of which has been formally tabled — has identified a number of provisions under consideration. These include codification of universal free education through Class XII, statutory recognition of the Higher Secondary School Certificate and the Bhutan Baccalaureate as school-leaving qualifications, teacher professional standards and a teacher-licensing regime, regulation of private schools and tuition centres, and the legal status of the Royal Education Council and the Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment.^[6]

None of these provisions has been enacted. Where they currently exist they do so as ministerial directives, RCSC service rules or executive arrangements rather than as a statutory regime. As of early 2026, the bill remains a long-pending policy proposal rather than law; it has not been tabled, debated as a bill, or sent for royal assent.^[7]

References

1. Motion (4P1S/M1): Government to Draft and Table an Education Bill — National Assembly of Bhutan
2. South Thimphu MP moves motion to draft and table Education Bill — BBS, June 2024
3. Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan, Article 9 — BhutanWiki
4. Ministry of Education programme document — Royal Government of Bhutan / Global Partnership for Education
5. REC Council — Department of School Education / Royal Education Council
6. Ministry of Education and Skills Development — official portal
7. 30th Session Resolutions — National Council of Bhutan