In terms of education in Bhutan, Bhutan has two decentralized universities while also having eleven constituent colleges that are spread across the kingdom, namely, the Royal University of Bhutan and Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences. The first five-year plan of Bhutan provided for a central education authority—which was in the form of a director of education who was appointed in 1961—as well as an organized and modern school system which gave the Bhutanese access to free and universal primary education.

Education programmes in Bhutan were given a boost in 1990 when the Asian Development Bank granted a US$7.13 million loan to the country for things like staff training and development, specialist services, equipment and furniture purchases, salaries and other recurrent costs, and facility rehabilitation and construction at the Royal Bhutan Polytechnic.

Since the beginning of education in Bhutan, there has been a large influx of teachers from India, especially Kerala, who have served in some of the most remote corners and villages of Bhutan. In honour for their service, 43 of the retired teachers from India, who served for long time were invited to Thimphu, Bhutan during the Teachers Day celebrations in the year 2018. They had the privilege of being individually thanked by the king of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. In order to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries of Bhutan and India, the Education Minister of India, Jai Bir Rai at a special ceremony that was organized in Kolkata, India on the 6th January 2019, felicitated 80 teachers who served in Bhutan. Currently, there are 121 teachers from India who have been placed in schools across Bhutan.