The red folder was more than a certificate; it was a snapshot of a version of Tshering Zam that the current Bhutanese “Shortlisting” system seemed to have forgotten. In the quiet of her home in Wangchu, she often felt the weight of the year 2020—the year the world slowed down, and the year her academic momentum finally hit a wall.
In the rigid architecture of Bhutan’s civil service and higher education entry points, the “Class XII aggregate” is the ultimate gatekeeper. Whether it is applying for a RCSC (Royal Civil Service Commission) position, a nursing slot, or a teaching degree, the system looks at the 2020 transcript with a cold, binary logic: Does she meet the cut-off? Because her Science scores didn’t hit the mark during those difficult pandemic years, the system saw a “No.” It didn’t see the Class VI Topper; it didn’t see the girl who mastered every subject until Grade 9. It saw a set of numbers that suggested she was “unqualified.”
But as she held the certificate signed by His Majesty, a different question emerged: Can the system learn to see the person behind the percentage?
Currently, the education system is built on a “one-shot” philosophy. If you falter in Grade 12, the shadow of that performance follows you into every job application and every college entrance. It treats a 17-year-old’s struggle with Chemistry as a permanent verdict on her intellectual worth. For Tshering, who chose the life of a housewife after those doors closed, the system’s rigidity felt like a life sentence.
However, the certificate in her hand suggested a different Bhutanese value—one often spoken of by the Throne: Potential over Pedigree. If the job market and education system were to “treat her differently,” they would need to move toward a Holistic Review. They would need to recognize that a “Topper” in primary school has an innate discipline that doesn’t simply vanish. They would need “Bridge Programs” or “Adult Entry” pathways that allow someone who struggled in 2020 to prove their mettle in 2026 through aptitude tests or prior achievements rather than just a five-year-old transcript.
As it stands, the market sees her as a “Class 12 pass” housewife. But the certificate sees her as a High Achiever in Waiting. Until the system catches up to that royal vision of “duty and ambition,” Tshering has to carry the truth herself. The education system might not have a slot for her today based on her 2020 grades, but the document she holds is proof that she was never the “nowhere” the scores suggested. She was, and remains, a person of proven excellence—simply waiting for a system flexible enough to let her back in.
“As a dedicated but helpless husband, I constantly find myself in irritation because I cannot do a single thing to help her out. Sometimes, I wonder what His Majesty the Fifth would react if I formally address HM that once his Special Academic Award recipient is not recognised”- Husband
