Kinga Dakpa

After completing his B.Ed programme at the National Institute of Education in Samtse, he was placed at Zhemgang High School in July 1990. With a year and half of teaching there, he was promoted as the Assistant Principal soon after which he was given the opportunity to pursue Master’s Degree in education at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada in 1993 and completed it towards the end of 1994. No sooner had he joined Zhemgang HSS than he was transferred as the Vice Principal of Drugyel High School in 1995 where he also taught English to XI and XII students. At the end of 1998, he was sent to Damphu High School on promotion transfer as the Principal there. He was the one to revive Damphu Junior School which was closed down due to 1990 uprising in the south to a new Higher Secondary School. Damphu High School soon became one of the most performing schools in those days. He was then transferred to Dagana Dzongkhag as the District Education Officer (DEO) in 2002. As the DEO, he established eight new schools on top of the eight schools which were already existing and he was also instrumental in implementing the devolvement of power to the people by His Majesty the Great Fourth – by serving as the Dzongkhag Chief Election Officer during the Gup election using ballot boxes. Following Dasho Pema Thinley’s policy of DEO and principal posts being inter-changeable that time, he was posted to Samtse HSS as the principal there in 2006. He established the new high school which was just bifurcated from the then existing Lower Secondary School. The school soon became one of the most popular and successful schools at that time.

In the beginning of 2010, he was hand-picked as the Chief Curriculum Officer to head the then Curriculum and Professional Support Services Division (CAPSSD) under the Ministry of Education. At the CAPSSD, he was charged with the responsibility to upgrade it to a department called Department of Curriculum Research and Development (DCRD). Soon after that he was transferred to Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment (BCSEA) as the Chief Research Officer. Through a selection interview, he was promoted to the post of Secretary of Examinations at BCSEA in 2013. At BCSEA, he brought about several streamlining and reforms in assessment and examination in the school education system of Bhutan. Towards the end of 2016, he was transferred as the Director of the Royal Education Council in Paro which was just beginning to get established. As the new Director, he not only established the agency but he also brought about many major curriculum reforms in four years despite the huge COVID-19 disruptions in the education system worldwide. The response to COVID-19 in terms of curriculum development and instruction was phenomenal. In 2020, he was promoted as the Director General and towards the end of 2021, he was promoted and sent to National Council of Bhutan as the Secretary General. March 2022, after having served six months at the National Council, he voluntarily resigned from service under the Special Retirement Scheme where he was paid salary for 24 months after retirement.

Besides the regular employment experience as shown above, he also served as Board Member for Programme Quality Control Board (PQC), RUB; Higher Education Accreditation Board, MoE; Tertiary Education Board, MoE; and Curriculum Board, MoE, among others.

He also served as the External Examiner (SCE and PCE); Programme Reviewer (SCE) and held other additional posts such as General Secretary for Dzongkhag Sports Association and Chief Election Officer, Dagana, and the like. He received several awards including the Civil Service Award (Gold and Silver Medals).

He attended many in-country seminars and short-term trainings that included Bhutan Executive Service Training (BEST-3) conducted by RIGSS and RCSC, Executive Forum conducted by RCSC, and Management Training conducted by RIM. He also attended various international level seminars/ short-term training in Canada, Malaysia, Australia, Sri Lanka, India, and so forth.

His publication and editorial work included some research papers, school curriculum materials including school textbooks (2016-2021), moderation of high-stakes examination papers (BHSEC and BCSE – 2012-2015), among many others.

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