Minister excited about new portfolio

Cabinet: In the company of his friends, he loves reciting lines from Macbeth. Tease him to recite any lines from any part of the Shakespearean tragedy and you will not be disappointed. His love for Shakespearean literature was one of the reasons why he chose to become a teacher. He still loves teaching.

Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk will follow his passion with the government recommending him to be the new education minister after Lyonpo Mingbo Dukpa offered to step down.

Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk has a B.Sc degree majoring in botany and zoology, MBA and postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE). He started his career as a teacher and moved on to become senior lecturer at the Royal Institute of Management (RIM) and later worked as an education researcher and consultant.

In 2013, many expected him to be the education minister. “It came by surprise that Lyonpo Norbu was appointed the economic affairs minister,” said a teacher who was with the minister last night to invite him for a school function, without knowing about the Cabinet reshuffle.

Officials from the economic affairs ministry said Lyonpo was hardworking and the ministry was able to deliver a lot, whether it was in hydropower or industries or the mining sector.

“I don’t want to look back, I am future oriented. But I will miss my colleagues at economic affairs ministry,” Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk said. In his residence last night, he looked excited and his passion for education is already oozing out through his words.

“Education is a powerful force that creates future of the nation and that is the whole excitement,” he said. “I am honoured.”

Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk helped design and develop the ‘Educating for Gross National Happiness’ that is currently used in all the schools and trained hundreds of teachers and principals while he was a consultant.

Even in the capacity of economic affairs minister, he had visited more than 50 schools in the country.

But he is also aware that education is a long-term investment, the fruits of which will not bear immediately.

Albeit the voluminous task to complete in a span of around two years, he still thinks he is a teacher.

Tshering Dorji

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