The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The Bhutan Higher Secondary Education Certificate (BHSEC) examinations saw its worst pass percentage in 10 years for Class 12 at 77.84 percent in 2025, down by about seven percentage points from 2024.
This triggered both students and parents to ask questions on why the performance was so poor this time around. A major change that appears to have happened this year is a major shift in how questions are asked.
The Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) has announced plans to shift board examination questions toward a competency-based format, aiming to better prepare students for future challenges and align Bhutan’s education system with international standards.
The announcement comes in the wake of discussions following the release of the 2025 Class 10 and 12 board examination results, where students raised concerns about the difficulty of some questions, particularly in Mathematics.
Several students told this paper that some questions were unfamiliar and did not match the prescribed syllabus. Many attributed their lower-than-expected scores to the challenging nature of the questions, saying they required advanced problem-solving skills that were not typically emphasized in classroom preparation. Some even alleged that the questions appear to be designed by AI.
In response, the MoESD said that the ministry is still reviewing the matter but emphasized that AI-generated questions are not encouraged.
The Education Minister, Yeezang De Thapa, said, “Our Question Developers are competent enough to frame questions. The reason why our children find the Mathematics questions tougher is because when we frame the question, we trick the children to see whether they have understood it and can solve it correctly.”
Lyonpo added, “Since the questions were slightly tricky, students were not used to solving this type of problem. They just need to apply the power of their brain.”
The Education Minister emphasized that students need to understand mathematical concepts and practice thoroughly to tackle the questions effectively.
Lyonpo added, “The ministry does not encourage this (AI), nor will we practice it. If there is anything like that, we will correct it, but so far, we have not found anything of that nature.”
The Exam Controller at BCSEA, Kinley Dorji, acknowledged that in an era of advanced technology, many people use AI. However, he clarified that Question Developers may have used it only to refine and format questions, not to generate them directly.
He said, “We ensure that all our questions are aligned with the syllabus and curriculum and are not directly generated from AI.”
Regarding the Mathematics questions, he said, “Mathematics is a bit technical. Each question is different from the others; it is not like other subjects where you learn one concept and apply it throughout the chapters.”
He said that Mathematics carry each concept and step and so many procedures, students should practice.
This paper also reported that the Cambridge Curriculum will be introduced starting this academic year for Classes 9 and 11 to better prepare students for their board examinations. In addition, the Education Minister mentioned that while aligning international standards with Bhutan’s education curriculum, the MoESD will design exam questions based on competency.
Lyonpo Yeezang De Thapa said, “Both the curriculum and assessment will be aligned with international standards.”
Kinley Dorji highlighted that the MoESD has gradually shifted from traditional question formats to more modern, competency-based questions that follow international practices, though not entirely.
He said, “We have implemented about 40 percent this year. Each year, the questions will gradually increase in difficulty, but they will continue to reflect what is taught in the classroom,” he said, noting that students will adapt as the new curriculum takes full effect.
The MoESD highlighted that competency-based questions will help Bhutanese students compete on an equal footing with peers worldwide.
Lyonpo added that if a system more advanced than Cambridge is developed in the future, the ministry will adopt it, urging the public to remain open to changes in education. She emphasized that these reforms aim to equip students not just for exams but for global challenges and opportunities in the years ahead.
Parents allege that another reason why students did not do well is that adequate gaps were not kept between exam dates. The fear is that the poor results will affect this batch of students in the future job market.
