Noted author and former education minister from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan Thakur S. Powdyel told academics in Malaysia recently that “green schools,” which provide curricula based on a holistic approach to education that goes beyond a focus on academic achievement, are key for the future success and development of a compassionate society.

Speaking at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Powdyel emphasized that children are a nation’s most precious resource, and that investing in the next generation of leaders determines the future and direction of that nation. As such, green schools can play an essential role in nurturing the next generation of leaders as balanced individuals who are equipped to work within and for the benefit of a community.

IIUM is a public university headquartered in the Malaysian state of Selangor, with six campuses across the country.

“With all the good that it has done, modern education leaves much to be desired,” said Powdyel, observing that although contemporary education systems often produce successful young people who excel academically and are competitive with their peers, they often felt isolated from themselves and others. (New Straits Times)

“A wise person once described education as the ‘noble sector’ and called upon others to help children and youth cultivate the nobility of the mind and the nobility of the heart, which would lead to the cultivation of the nobility of action,” Powdyel explained. “As things stand, there is an urgent need to restore education to its core function as the ‘noble sector’ that seeks to harmonize the gift of the head, the heart, and the hands, thereby enabling young men and women, children and youth to develop into well-integrated individuals who are at peace with themselves and at peace with the world around them.” (New Straits Times)

A respected educator in his native Bhutan, Powdyel was Bhutan’s first democratically elected minister of education, helping to move Bhutan toward fulfilling its UN-backed Millennium Development Goals and the kingdom’s constitutional education mandate. He is also the author of the books Right of Vision & Occasional Views (2014) and My Green School: An Outline (2014). Powdyel describes My Green School as “a meditation on the core function of education,” in which he expresses his vision of holistic education. The book has since been translated into Catalan, German, Japanese, Kannada, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

In 2011, Powdyel was a recipient of Gusi Peace Prize, sometimes referred to as the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for his lifetime contribution to education. In 2012, he received the Global Education Award for his outstanding contribution to education, as well as Bhutan’s Druk Thuksey Institutional Award, and in 2016, a Distinguished Service Award for his pioneering work in education.