Between 2023 and 2025, the Digital Literacy Initiative (DLI) built a working system for digital education in Bhutan: 206 teachers were trained, 710 laptops distributed to 60 schools across 19 dzongkhags, and over 11,290 children learned to code, design and solve problems. The programme was carried by the VTOB Foundation, funded by the Dariu Foundation and the Regula and Beat Curti Foundation, and implemented together with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD). The national coding competition that grew out of it has been run by the Ministry itself since 2025 — the clearest sign that the structure holds.
Now Bhutan is taking the next step. The Bhutan Education Technology Framework 2025 brings artificial intelligence into national teaching standards and defines what an AI-competent teacher needs to know. Until now, there was no way to train them. DigiGyel is that way: from 2026 to 2028, one teacher at each of Bhutan’s 500 government schools will be trained as a master trainer — four days of training, from fundamentals through ethics to lesson design. The knowledge then spreads through a cascade model: the 500 master trainers train their colleagues at their own school — 5,000 teachers in total — who in turn teach their classes. Only the first stage is funded; everything after that happens within the school system itself.
Training takes place exclusively during school holidays, so no class time is lost. Work with students only begins in 2028: a Dariu Tech Club at every school, reaching 10,000 participants in total, 2,500 student projects, boot camps and a national AI expo. By the end of 2028, 100,000 students are expected to gain foundational AI skills.
DigiGyel is built to be handed over. The Ministry is a partner from day one: it co-runs the trainings, decides how laptops are distributed, and takes part in monitoring visits. In the end, the training materials go to the Ministry and the curriculum enters the national system — and the Dariu Foundation moves on.
