Furthermore, development of the education system will also be determined by the government's policy of providing education in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. Efforts are being made to ensure that the education infrastructure that is in existence as well as the demand that it has created in the process of its development can be supported with available resources, namely, human and financial. This means working towards a system of cost-sharing, cost-reduction, self-reliance and a constraint driven development model without compromising the quality of education services. The system of community participation has already been established. It is anticipated that this will evolve over time for communities to play a much more active role not only in the domain of school building but in the content, school time table and other issues of importance. This is seen to be crucial if one is to make the concept of "rural-flavoured education" a reality.

While Primary Education will continue getting the lion's share of the resources and will be the main conduit for achieving EFA targets, the NFE programme shall be provided with much more resources and be allowed to expand at a faster pace than was the case till now.

Early Child-hood Development has so far not been accorded much attention because of other competing demands as well as the comforting knowledge that these were addressed through the traditional family care system. However, with the increasing transformation of the society putting added pressure on the traditional family ties and relationships, it is seen that ECCD would need to play a greater role in our society. An increasing body of knowledge in this field supports such a move. Therefore, more resources shall be accorded to this programme. In particular, the Non Formal Education will be developed to provide stronger links to early childhood development.

As one nears the Universal Primary Education coverage, the system will need to devise programmes and create facilities for enrolling the population groups who are not so visible at present. They include those that have physical and mental disabilities as well as those who adopt nomadic life styles. Fortunately for Bhutan, the size of this population is small. Even considering this, it is expected to involve sizable additional costs to the system.

It has become imperative for education system to provide in addtion to the 3 Rs, the essential life-skills and value systems that will enable the youth to survive and contribute to the larger society. Essential linkages to the world of work, rural society, national ethos and positive values are important elements of a good education system. In a situation of an expanding education system at all levels and limited resources, this requires the use of ingenous strategies and methods. This will be the greatest challenge for the future Bhutanese Education system.