A STUDY ON MANAGEMENT OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN BHUTANESE SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM: POLICY, PRACTICES AND PERCEPTIONS

Abstract

Abstract

Although the Primary Education is not compulsory in Bhutan, the Royal Government has managed to double its literacy within a decade. Bhutan's recently achieved its long time goal of Universal Primary Education. The gross enrolment rate in primary education was 106% in 2007. There is near gender equality (93%). The completion rate of primary education was 87% (Word Bank Report, 2008). Currently, we have around 150, 000 children enrolled in around 500 various learning institutions spread across the tiny nation.

Despite all above remarkable achievements, UNICEF report-2008 reveals ‘there are over 3,300 children with immediate special learning needs in the country’. Education Ministry also admitted that “in all we have over 16,000 children who are still not able to access education for varied reasons’, yet there will be additions of several thousand new entrants every year”. Such an alarming figure of unenrollment and presence of special needs children in a country is a strong indication for an urgent call to do more and faster.

The purpose of the study is to explicitly disclose how our Bhutanese School Education Policy is framed and implemented to promote inclusive education approaches in the country. Its content part explains different educational strategies and approaches to address necessary challenges lies in perusing inclusion in Bhutanese school education system.

The findings include; lack of inclusive policy guidelines, untrained teachers in inclusive field, rigidity of school curriculum, unequal opportunities through schooling programs, lack of alternative assessment for special need children, poor collaborations among the stakeholders and exclusion of many disabled and special need children on various grounds.

Key Terms : Inclusive education, special needs, Bhutanese education policy, inclusive management