Education has been in the limelight these past few days. For the country these are reasons enough to celebrate.

Whatever this term called The Rising East is supposed to mean, development in education is always good for the country.

On October 6, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay inaugurated the College of Information Technology in Gyelpozhing. The college is important in the sense that the country will require competent and quality IT professionals to support its growing economy. The college today has 79 students, 13 lectures, and 30 supporting staff. Gyalpozhing Central School had to handover its lower campus to the college, which has caused infrastructure shortage in the school. But that is no big problem. Transition can be difficult sometimes.

And then we have Yonphula Centenary College in Kanglung, Trashigang.  Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay inaugurated the college yesterday. This addition takes the number of colleges in the east to four – Jigme Namgyel Engineering College in Dewathang, Gyalpozhing College of Information Technology in Mongar, College of Rigney in Trashiyangtse, and Yonphula Centenary College in Trashigang. The college in is Yonphula designed primarily for in-service teachers in accordance with the education ministry’s plan to provide master’s degree to all the teachers.

These developments in the education are significant because intake capacity of Bhutanese tertiary institutes will increase dramatically. Because of fewer specialisation choices and number of colleges, thousands of Bhutanese students go abroad, especially to India, to pursue higher studies. This has impact on the country’s economy. For families from poorer backgrounds, it is more than just challenging to send their children for higher education if they do not qualify for courses available in Bhutanese colleges.

Good higher education institutions will guarantee good supply of required human resource for the nation’s development. That’s why our focus now should be more on quality than numbers. More colleges will be required in the future, of course, but if our colleges cannot produce the manpower that we need for the nation’s development, the real purpose of having more higher education institutions will be defeated.

This day, certainly, is a day in our nation’s life when we must celebrate the growth of education.