The Royal Academy of Performing Arts (RAPA) will soon upgrade its courses to a National Diploma. It has completed validating the diploma curriculum and is expected to be introduced soon.
Today, the courses at the academy are National Certificate 2 and 3. The duration to complete them ranges from two to four years.
As per the Bhutan Vocational Qualifications Framework 2013, the National Certificate 2 and 3 qualifications shall be mainly skills or practical based with only about 20 per cent of trade-related theory.
“Until now, our courses were certified as National Certificate courses and not a proper Academic Qualification Certificate. But soon, the NC2 and NC3 courses will be replaced with a Diploma Certificate,” said Phub Wangdi, the Vice Principal of RAPA.
He said, although the academy aims to provide skilful employees to uphold the country’s age-old intangible culture, without a proper certificate, its graduates are not able to compete in the job market.
“We need a diploma course so that our graduates use it as a basis of their qualification. Today, although they are talented, they are not able to secure a job because they do not meet the qualification criteria.”
He added, with a national diploma, RAPA graduates can serve as cultural assistant, dance and driglam namzha teachers in ministries, districts, schools and different agencies.
The RAPA was formally established in 1954 to preserve and promote Bhutanese mask dance, folk dance and music. Currently, it has 40 students.
Yeshi Dorji
