The Bhutanese Leading the way.
In response to concerns voiced by teachers, the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD), in collaboration with the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC), has introduced significant revisions to the School Employee Performance Assessment Framework.
Teachers have expressed frustration with the fairness of the evaluation process, particularly with the current Individual Work Plan (IWP) assessments, which frequently categorize them into classifications such as “Partly Meeting Expectations”.
This dissatisfaction has been recognized as one of the contributing factors to teacher attrition, a concern highlighted during the recent 33rd session of parliament by the education minister.
“To mitigate these concerns and allow teachers to focus on their core responsibilities without undue stress, the Ministry and RCSC have jointly decided to exempt certain schools from the PME during the Performance Evaluation System,” stated the Education Minister. “Under the new guidelines, 162 schools and those experiencing teacher attrition rates exceeding 20% will be exempted from this marking requirement.”
The Bhutanese reached RCSC for further clarification where they said, “The review team comprising of representatives from school fraternity, MoESD and RCSC proposed four recommendations: To introduce objective performance indicators through performance dashboard, review mandatory PME based on objective criteria, such as teacher vacancies exceeding 20%, and schools with ten or fewer staff members will not be required to assign a mandatory PME rating, and a consistent process will be established by MoESD for evaluating principals at the national level.”
Furthermore, the revised framework introduces objective Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through a dynamic performance dashboard. This initiative aims to ensure a more balanced and transparent evaluation process for principals, teachers, counselors, and support staff alike.
The introduction of KPIs is expected to complement existing competency assessments, offering a clearer path for performance evaluation and feedback.
RCSC says, “By exempting schools facing severe teacher shortages and refining the evaluation criteria, we aim to enhance fairness and reduce administrative burdens.”
According to RCSC, to facilitate effective implementation and ensure alignment with the school, RCSC conducted an inclusive online consultative meeting engaging civil servants from across the educational spectrum.
The insights gathered during this session have informed further refinements to the performance dashboard, making it an informative tool for school management accountability.
In conjunction with these reforms, RCSC organized a specialized 3-day training session attended by key stakeholders and senior management from MoESD.
This training focused on equipping school leaders with essential skills in understanding KPIs, conducting performance evaluations, and delivering constructive feedback.
“The training equips school leaders to effectively manage staff performance and cultivates a culture of excellence,” said RCSC.
For more information on the updated performance assessment framework and its implementation, stakeholders are encouraged to visit the MaX system online or reach out to RCSC or MoESD representatives.
