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Brief
History
- Canadians are well-respected in Bhutan because most of the senior
Bhutanese administrators were taught by Canadians. More than forty
years ago, a Canadian Jesuit by the name of William Mackey went to Bhutan
at the request of the Royal Government to establish a secular secondary
school system. Father Mackey continued his work in the education sector
in Bhutan until his death in 1995 at the age of eighty. He was publicly
honoured on a number of occasions by the government of Bhutan for his
many years of service to the country, and in 1994 UNB awarded him an
honorary degree in recognition of this service. Father Mackey and his
colleagues set the stage for the long and friendly relationship that
has developed between Bhutan and Canada.
- In 1985, the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) opened an
office in Bhutan after an agreement was signed with the Royal Government.
Under this agreement, more than 40 Canadian teachers worked in Bhutanese
schools and 20 Bhutanese teachers came to Canada for further studies
at UNB.
- In 1991, WUSC had to withdraw from Bhutan. At this time, the Canadian
High Commission in New Delhi took over the office and changed its name
to the Bhutan-Canadian Cooperation Office (CCO). Because of UNB's long
association with Bhutan, and at the request of the Bhutanese government,
the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) invited the Faculty of Education to submit
a proposal to continue Canada's assistance with the strengthening of
the education sector in Bhutan. The proposal was accepted and, after
agreements between CIDA, UNB, and the Royal Government of Bhutan were
signed, UNB took over the operation of the CCO on July 1, 1992. Since that time more than 100 Bhutanese have graduated from Canadian institutions with many receiving funding from other sources.
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