The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The deliberation of the interim review report on education-related legislation took place during the 8th Sitting of the National Council of the Parliament session.
The Chairperson of the Committee of Education, Tshering Wangchen, introduced the review report on education legislation by talking about the Royal Kasho issued by His Majesty, which focuses on strengthening Bhutan’s education system, and by outlining the origins of the education system in Bhutan.
Bhutan has been following the Education Policy and Guidelines Instructions (EPGI). However, the report shared by the MP states that the policy has continually changed, impacting the development of the education system in Bhutan.
“As this policy is affecting the quality of our education system, we believe we need to implement strong education legislation,” the Committee Chairperson said.
He outlined the aims of the Education Committee, which include bringing the education system up to global standards, and researching disparities in facilities between rural and urban schools.
The committee members also conducted extensive research on the advantages and disadvantages of adopting education policies and legislation from other Asian countries.
The Deputy Chairperson, Tshering Tshomo, then discussed the 1976 Education Committee, which was established to create education-related legislation and where the education policy was first formulated.
After eight years, in 1984, another education-related legislation was formulated in the country.
In 1987, a new education policy called EPGI was introduced, which remains in effect in our country and the latest update of the EPGI was published last year (the 37th EPGI).
“Education-related policies, executive orders, and new laws have had to comply with the EPGI until now, benefiting the Ministry of Education, students, and teachers. However, along with these benefits, there have been challenges,” the Deputy Chairperson, and further added, “Executive orders and notifications issued by authorities must be followed by teachers and students without individual discussions, decisions being made solely by the head.”
In the report shared by the MP, she noted that during their research, the committee observed a disparity in the education systems followed by individual schools due to the lack of strong policy related to education.
According to the report, the Dzongkha subject in schools, which includes chokey, faces another challenge where teachers responsible for teaching chokey are not provided with adequate training.
The Draft National Education Policy as revealed by the committee has been in draft for about 15 years, it was first in draft in the year 2009 and is still in draft until now.
“During 2017 and 2018, Bhutanese teachers were required to undergo training in the Kagan structure teaching pedagogy. However, currently, there is no evaluation in place for this, which raises doubts whether it’s due to the lack of strong education legislation in our country,” said the Deputy Chairperson.
According to the committee’s report, the Bhutan Education Blueprint was introduced by MoESD and this policy is nearing its conclusion this year. While the objectives outlined in this policy are highly impactful and significant, the most crucial ones have not yet achieved success.
The Deputy Chairperson says, “Among these critical policies, the Bhutan Education Blueprint emphasized the construction of education-related legislation. However, discussions with key education stakeholders responsible for this legislation have not yet yielded success.”
The Education Committee conducted research by reviewing education legislation from various countries, taking into account neighboring countries, the diplomatic relations with Bhutan, and each country’s international educational standards.
In countries like Singapore, the committee members recognized that problems in education stemmed from the absence of comprehensive education legislation and limited education curriculums. However, after implementing education legislation, the quality of education improved consistently year by year.
Before the education legislation in India, the quality of education was lower, and there were high rates of school dropouts, with many subjects deemed irrelevant. However, after the introduction of education-related legislation, the education system in India underwent significant development.
Even countries like China and Nepal, which previously had poor education systems, experienced development after implementing education-related legislation.
Despite efforts such as following EPGI and introducing the Bhutan Education Blueprint, Bhutan’s education system still faces challenges.
Comparisons with other countries like India, China, Nepal, and Singapore highlight how education legislation can significantly enhance educational quality and outcomes.
Thus, the Committee of Education pointed out that addressing these issues and finalizing the Draft National Education Policy will be crucial towards aligning Bhutan’s education system with global standards, and ensuring development for the students and educators.
