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Unlike many countries, traditional arts, age-old ceremonies, festivals, social conduct and structures are not remnants of a bygone age. Traditional arts and crafts are still practiced as they were hundreds of years ago, vibrant festivals are still celebrated and social principles like the Driglam Namzha (Code of Etiquettes) are still evident because they continue to have special significance in the daily lives of the people.
Even though the government provides free education to almost all students, there are still many who are unable to get these opportunities. Typical rural Bhutanese families normally have, on average, more than four children and the parents, usually dependent on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood, are not able to send all their children to school . Other notable reasons include the need for some children to help their parents in the fields and doing house chores while many others fall under the drop-out category.The steep and mountainous topography of the country, coupled with very sparse settlements in the rural areas, made it impossible to locate schools uniformly within walking distance for the children.The huge capital and subsequent recurring costs involved in establishing a decent school also limited the education coverage in some parts of the country.Then there is the ever present problem of commuting especially in the wet and muddy monsoon seasons where traveling poses as a huge challenge even for adults. These factors led to the creation of uneducated and unemployed youth in the rural areas of the country.
Guru Rimpoche or the Precious Master, visited the country and introduced Buddhism. Due to its self-imposed isolation from the international community until the 1950s, the cultural heritage of the country has remained to a great degree unaltered. Therefore, for Bhutan, the cultural heritage of the country is of such importance today, that it is considered the foundation upon which the identity of the people and the country as a sovereign and an independent nation is built.
However, in midst of the gradual opening up of the country, Bhutan has experienced a lot of unforeseen challenges. The country is still among the least developed countries in the world. The slow shift from an agricultural society to a market based society has brought about the problems of rural-urban migration and rising unemployment. The rich cultural heritage, too, is exposed to outside invasions. For these reasons, education of Bhutanese youth is seen as one of the main solutions to address these challenges.
The government of Bhutan today places a huge emphasis on providing education to Bhutanese children. More than one sixth of the country's population today are students in one of the educational institutions, ranging from community primary-level schools in the rural pockets of the country to the various colleges and training institutes of the newly established National University.
The school would have never materialized in the first place had it not been for the support of Choki Handicrafts, a Bhutanese Handicrafts Shop started and owned by Kuenzang D. Thinley, son of Dasho Choki Dorji. The government, too, supported the school by kindly allowing CTAS to use one of the government buildings for temporary classrooms and hostel for the students.
Bordered by the Tibetan autonomous region of China in the north and by India in the south, Bhutan is a small Himalayan kingdom which is not only landlocked but also has one of the most formidable mountainous terrains in the world.
Ancient stone implements and other archaeological findings indicate that there were settlements in the country dating back to 2000 B.C. The chronicled history of the kingdom, however, begins with the advent of Buddhism in the 8th Century. In 747 A.D. the Buddhist sage, Padmasambhava, popularly revered in Bhutan as
The idea of a small private school, with a full boarding facility which can provide free education to these children in the development of skills in traditional Bhutanese Arts and Crafts, originated with Dasho Choki Dorji. He was an ex-judge who is himself a dedicated Lharip (Painter) and a true enthusiast of Bhutanese arts and crafts. It was seen that the school, if established could fulfill the multiple objectives of educating these unfortunate children as well as contributing strongly to preserving and promoting the rich traditional arts and crafts of the country. Therefore in 1999, in commemoration of His