Link to Bhutan's national development priorities
With the goal of increasing access to and improving the quality of basic education in the country, Bhutan's 2001 human resource development plan for the education sector identified four specific development needs: accommodating the accelerated growth in student enrolment; meeting the demand for teachers; upgrading and improving teacher qualifications; and preparing 1,400 new administrators to assume school leadership roles.

Project purpose
The project seeks to address Bhutan's priorities in education by increasing the capacity of the National Institutes of Education (NIE) and Sherubtse College to strengthen leadership within the education sector so that the intended advances in basic education will be sustained.

Expected outcomes
Expected outcomes include an autonomous graduate level leadership program (master's in education [MEd]) within the NIE; improved basic education through enhanced leadership skills of Bhutan's current and prospective headmasters (125 women and 175 men) in 20 districts; and a professional growth and mentoring program developed and operated by NIE faculty for Bhutan's school administrators.

Beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries of the project will be selected staff and faculty from the partner institutions in Bhutan as well as primary school headmasters throughout the country. The indirect beneficiaries of the project will be Bhutanese primary school children who will benefit from better delivery of primary education.

Key activities
Throughout the project, a full master's program will be taught by Canadian and Bhutanese faculty to 20 students, with degrees granted by NIE. A leadership development program will be prepared and delivered to school-based headmasters in Bhutan and a leadership mentoring program will be established. In addition, NIE libraries and facilities will be upgraded so that students and faculty have access to the necessary teaching and communication resources.

Key results to date
To date 17 masters' students in the first cohort have completed eight courses and the 17 students in the second cohort have completed six courses. Twenty participants have completed the first six leadership modules and 35 other students have completed the first three leadership modules. Forty mentees, 20 mentors, and 20 district education officers have completed the first year of the Mentorship Program. This means that during the first two years and three months of this project, approximately 170 school leaders and 10 university instructors have received some leadership training.

CIDA priorities addressed

Official development assistance area(s):
Basic education (primary)
Gender equality (secondary)

Sector(s):
Education facilities and training (primary)
Education policy and administrative management (secondary)

Policy priorities:
Children and youth - Basic education (primary)
Equality (secondary)

Project value
Original CIDA commitment: $750,000
Total CIDA contribution: $750,000
Partners' commitments: $362,000

Project duration
January 2003 - August 2007