Education: In what could provide students aspiring to pursue further studies with better knowledge in selecting institutes within and outside the country, the Royal Civil Service Commission has evaluated the performance of students in the Bhutan Civil Service Examination by institute for the last five years.

Among students from more than 200 different institutes within and outside the country, students of Sherubtse College have always performed better than other institutes in the Preliminary Examination (PE) as well as the main examination.

The Gaeddu College of Business Studies, Royal Thimphu College, College of Science and Technology, RVS College of Arts and Science in India, Institute of Language and Cultural Studies and College of Natural Resources, among others, follow.

Given the limited number of institutes for higher education in the country, there are candidates from a number of different institutes based in different countries appearing for the BCSE.

For instance, there were 1,686 candidates from 183 different institutes based in 12 different countries who appeared for the BCSE in 2011. In 2012, there were at least 2,397 candidates who studied in 229 different institutes based in 11 different countries.

However, 2013 recorded the maximum number of graduates at 3,332 who studied in 288 institutes. In 2014 and 2015, there were 2,892 and 3,322 candidates from 241 and 260 different institutes appearing for the BCSE respectively.

While there are a few candidates who studied in institutes in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America, the large majority of the students who study outside Bhutan, go to institutes in India. For instance, in 2011, 36.47 percent studied in Bhutan and 64.47 percent in India. In 2015, 58.10 percent studied in Bhutan and 39.92 percent in India.

The report mentions that graduates from some institutes have consistently performed well in the BCSE over the years. On the other hand, candidates from some other institutes have consistently performed poorly. For instance, during the reporting period, the largest number of candidates who got through the PE and got selected in the main examination of the BCSE general category is from Sherubtse College.

RCSC recommends a list of 59 Indian institutes that are rated “A” by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. This is expected to help Bhutanese students to choose which institutes to attend. Some of the institutes include Aditya Engineering College, Andra University,  Osmania University, K.L College of Engineering, The English and Foreign Languages University, Acharya Group of Institutions, Dayanand Sagar College of Arts, Science and Commerce, SRM University and VIT university, among others.

RCSC chairperson Dasho Karma Tshiteem said that the commission’s motive behind producing this report is to provide feedback that can be useful to Bhutanese students pursuing further education in terms of institutes they select.

“Bhutanese going outside and studying in low-quality institutes due to lack of information is a growing concern for the students themselves as well as their parents,” he said.

The commission will publish such a report every year as an advisory for parents and prospective candidates, and feedback for the institutes.

Nirmala Pokhrel | Tsirang