The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The ministry of education will be introducing career-based education and counseling which is one of the new approaches to education. The ministry is exploring ways to supplement the new normal curriculum and pedagogy to make students take part in self-exploration learning.
The department of youths and sports will be intensifying and doing an in-depth study on this.
Education Minister Jai Bir Rai said quality education needs quality plans and preparations. One of the methods that the ministry is exploring to adopt is career inspiration, education and counselling modalities in the subsequent years.
Through career based education and counseling, students are made sure that they are ready in the future. With ever changing careers and professions, it is important to know the student’s interest and ensure they are being set up for success in an equitable manner. Based on that the curriculum will also be developed. For example, for students who wants to be a doctor in the future, they through career based education and counselling, will be able to understand and prepare for it.
All career counselors in the schools are certified and trained and they will be trained again on communication skills. In the past it used to be a different model where a counselor takes a few classes in a week and students did not show much interest and had less ideas about it. Now this career based education will be inspiring the children to link to their favorite subject in the future.
The students from classes VII and above can take up the career based education and around one or two classes in a month will be conducted.
Another was of supplementing education is through games, sports and co-curriculum activities which will help in human development. As per Lyonpo’s observation, one may have very good in grades but for those not being involved in sports and games, the thinking motor skills of the children is quite slow than the children who plays sports. Currently in the schools, only those who are good in sports are called to participate in the competition and those who are not good at it are left behind. He said sports and games are a must for all the students.
Lyonpo said children will learn team work, discipline and leadership and the most interesting thing is they will not indulge in drugs. He said career based education will be complimenting the main stream academic session.
Meanwhile, schools in four dzongkhags are closed due to lockdown and they are taking up online classes although there are few challenges associated with online classes but technology teaching-learning has become more effective and also more cost-effective. The education minister has received feedback from high school students and they said that the online teaching-learning has improved a lot compared to the previous years.
