Last week there was a huge social media storm and outrage after the Education Minister Yeezang D. Thapa and Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay revealed that a Committee set up to study the Saturday off pledge had recommended not to give Saturday off.
The disclosure lead to a strong reaction as many people pointed out that it was promised by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in its manifesto.
Now the Education Minister Yeezang D Thapa stated that it was only a committee recommendation and the Cabinet is yet to take a decision on it.
Lyonpo said that the cabinet will take a final decision on the issue towards the end of May 2024 after an international education assessment team called ‘Cambridge International,’ does an online and on the ground assessment and diagnosis of the schools and curriculum by the end of May.
She said the team will submit a complete report to the cabinet and based on the report a decision will be taken.
The minister said the review will definitely lead to changes in the curriculum.
The Cambridge International team will study other aspects like physical health and well-being of students and teachers etc.
“We want to bring the education system to the international level,” said the minister.
She said that after the assessment they would get a benchmark on the quality of education.
The assessment will also be looking at the number of days of instruction in a year. The minister said currently there are only 150 days of instruction in a year counting Monday to Friday and 215 off days. She said this means 41% instruction days and 59% off days.
The minister said private schools do not have Saturday classes and it is public schools where students come on Saturday for various activities.
The minister said an important outcome is that they will know the size of the curriculum and how many subjects are required to be taught which in turn will determine the instructional hours. Lyonpo said they want a curriculum at par with international standards and she said this is why they want to review the curriculum first and then take an informed decision as they do not want to make a mistake.
The online review is going on and about to be complete after which the ground review will start by the end of March.
The minister said the committee’s recommendation are honest feedback and they should not be criticized.
The committee comprised of officials from the Education and Skills Development Ministry and some principals.
When asked about the fact that the PDP Manifesto had made a direct political pledge to give Saturday off the minister said, “We don’t deny giving this pledge but the point here is we could have given Saturday off if we wanted to but we don’t want to take decisions just like that.”
The minister said the curriculum review will likely lead to a more up to date curriculum of the international standards and once redundant teaching materials are taken out then it will be lighter.
She said once this is done then the Saturday activities can be fit within the five days.
Meanwhile, apart from the reaction on social media there is also a strong feeling within PDP that the Saturday Off pledge should be fulfilled.
A PDP party member on the condition of anonymity said the party, all the MPs and even the ministers want the pledge to be fulfilled and the only thing in the way right now is the committee report.
A PDP minister on the condition of anonymity said, “This is just a recommendation (committee report) and since it concerns the life of children there needs to be proper research and solutions. The Education Minister will come up with the main research and the ministers have also been asked to do their own research.”
The minister said, “We should try and fulfil the pledge because if we don’t then from here no matter what the PDP government does or achieves it will not matter anymore for the people. This is a pledge that touches so many lives like teachers, students and parents.”
The minister said that many PDP well-wishers and supporters were also asking questions but he said things are not so simple.
The minister said they have to take the recommendations seriously and come up with a decision after consulting professionals.
The minister said that the government will try its best to address the issue and try and give Saturday off.
A PDP MP acknowledged that PDP’s inability to fulfil this pledge will damage it politically and benefit other parties.