Education Without Compromise. Bhutan, 2008.

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EDUCATION WITHOUT COMPROMISE

January 2008

EDUCATION SECTOR REVIEW COMMISSION

CONTENTS

ABBREVIATIONS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CHAPTER I: Bhutan's Development of Education

CHAPTER II: Early Childhood Care and Education

CHAPTER III: Universal Primary Education

CHAPTER IV: Status of Primary Education

CHAPTER V: Factors Influencing Learning Achievement in Primary Education

CHAPTER VI: Secondary Education

CHAPTER VII: School Culture: An Overlooked Dimension for Improvement

CHAPTER VIII: Tertiary Education

CHAPTER IX: Impact of the Education System on Human Resources Development

CHAPTER X: Transforming the Education System

CHAPTER XI: Establishing Indicators for Quality Education

CHAPTER XII: Timeframe for Pursuing Recommendations

ANNEX 1: Executive Order for Establishment of Education Sector Review Commission

ANNEX 2: Reflections on Education Quality in Bhutan

ANNEX 3 The Heart Essence of Education in Bhutan

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Abbreviations

ATD Agency for Teacher Development

BCSE Bhutan Certificate for Secondary Examination

BE Bachelor of Engineering

BHSEC Bhutan Higher Secondary Education Certificate

BNHRD Bhutan National Human Resource Development Report

CBSE Central Board of Secondary Education

DEO District Education Officer

Dzongkhag District

ECCD Early Childhood Care and Development

ECCE Early Childhood Care and Education

EFA Education For All

EMSSD Education Monitoring and Support Services, MoE, Bhutan

GER Gross Enrolment Ratio

HSS Higher Secondary School

ISCED International Standard Classification of Education

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency

LSS Lower Secondary School

MBBS Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MLL Minimum Levels of Learning

MoE Ministry of Education

MoLHR Ministry of Labour and Human Resources

MSS Middle Secondary School

NEA National Examination Assessment, Bhutan

NER Net Enrolment Ratio

NFE Non-Formal Education

OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

PP Pre-primary

SMB School Management Board

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UPE Universal Primary Education

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In pursuit of a decision by the Council of Ministers, the Hon’ble Prime Minister issued an Executive Order on 1 November 2006 establishing a 10-member Education Sector Review Commission to examine Bhutan’s education sector. This was to serve as “a comprehensive sector-wide reform and development measure.” At the outset, therefore, we wish to convey our most sincere gratitude to the Council of Ministers for the confidence reposed in us to undertake this very important review. This was the first comprehensive review of its kind, and the task was heavy. Nevertheless, we hope that despite any shortcomings in the report, we have not failed in setting a precedent for such timely reviews of the most important sector in the Royal Government – education.

During our yearlong tenure, this Commission was privileged to have interactions with scores of people, too numerous to mention by name. To all those who generously shared their views and experiences, we extend our heartfelt thanks. We would like to express appreciation to all students and teachers in 13 districts and more than 30.schools who participated in the survey. We hope that our report will give voice to their honest expressions and their pleas for intervention to optimise their teaching/learning experiences. We also would like to extend our gratitude to the head teachers, principals and teachers, staff and District Education Officers and Education Monitoring Officers who kindly facilitated our work and shared their perceptions and experiences. Our own insights and understanding of the day-to-day struggles, triumphs and hopes in the schools were sensitised by the articulation of all those who shared the larger collective experience of Bhutanese education.

We were overwhelmed by the interest, concern and goodwill shown by numerous people for improvement of the quality of education in the country. Gratitude is expressed to those teachers, parents and concerned citizens, expatriates, consultants and scholars in Bhutan, as well as those outside the country, who shared their time, experiences and expert insights.

We extend special thanks to those who went out of their way to write papers incorporated in the Commission’s report, voluntarily or on request. Special mention must be made of Dr. David Fulton, Assistant Director of the Office of School Character and Culture in the Denver Public Schools in Denver, Colorado, in the United States, who came to Bhutan to assist the Commission pro bono. He was with the Commission for an entire month and helped to conduct and analyse the study on school culture.

Our work would have not been possible without the confidence and continuous encouragement we received from Dasho Dr. Pema Thinley, former Secretary of Education. We are gratified by the interest shown in our work by the present Secretary of Education, Aum Sangay Zam. Thanks are extended to Mr. Tsewang Tandin, Director of the Department of School Education, who eased our logistical and official procedures within the education system. Gratitude also is due to Dasho Zangley Dukpa, former Vice Chancellor of the Royal University of Bhutan, and Dr. Jagar Dorji, former Director of Sherubtse College, who helped us to sharpen our focus on higher education. Mr. Rinchen Samdrup, Planning Officer in the Ministry of Education, and Ms. Tshering Wangmo, are likewise gratefully acknowledged for facilitating financial and budgetary matters and for organisational and secretarial support respectively.

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PREFACE

Although we have made rapid strides in the fields of education and human resources development, there is still a long way to go before our nation is equipped with the human resources required to sustain the process of development. The nation’s skills base is extremely narrow, and just over one-half of our population can be considered literate and numerate. Although we can draw satisfaction from the rapid growth in primary and secondary school enrolment, the high dropout and repeater rates provide genuine cause for concern. Less then one-half of all those who enter primary school actually complete primary education, while less than 40 percent of young people of secondary school age are actually in secondary education, and a large number will fail to complete it.

Bhutan 2020 A Vision for Peace, Prosperity and Happiness

Since the release of the Bhutan 2020 vision document in 1999, considerable progress has been made in expanding schooling and tertiary education in the country. The number of schools, educational institutes and centres reached 1,666 by 2007, with a student population of 189,259 (excluding Bhutanese students outside the country). Nevertheless, this Commission has anticipated that, as in many developing counties, issues of efficiency, quality and learner achievement will grow – but with the right kinds of inputs, these issues can be resolved within the system we already have.

There was, however, no way the Commission could have fathomed the depth and complexity of challenges emanating from the current status of education and human resources:

1. Bhutan is a young country, with 59 percent of its population younger than 25; 42 percent below 15; and 30 percent younger than 10. Given such demographic characteristics, youth unemployment, already estimated at 3 percent in 2005, seems inevitable. Paradoxically, however, there exists a shortage of skilled manpower in every sector of the economy. As such, youth unemployment – often a result of poor schooling – is a matter of the highest concern. For every 100 PP children only around 85 continue to lower secondary level (Classes VII and VIII), and an even smaller number studies further. Discontinuation of education leads to an accumulation of job seekers at the bottom of the education pyramid, as well as the immediate fallout of low skills levels among the working youth population. Reversing that skills deficit requires nothing less than reinventing the system.

2. Bhutan also is on the cusp of joining the World Trade Organization, and in the new dynamics of globalisation, a national workforce will need strong skills in mathematics, science and technology, and literacy. Moreover, this is not just for top professionals and managers: Such needs will extend through the length and breadth of the workforce. By 2010, even India will require additional skilled manpower amounting to 8,50,000. Even more surprisingly, by 2020 the shortage of skilled

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3. professionals is expected to reach 40 million in developed countries. 1 Thus, the inescapable conclusion is that the quality of education of a work force will matter even more than the quantity. Indeed, a study undertaken in the United State shows that a difference of one standard deviation in mathematic and science scores is related to a 1 percent difference in annual per-capita GDP growth. It is, therefore, alarming that Bhutan has neither a large enough workforce nor one that is well-endowed educationally or with regard to skills. If the current educational trends continue, by the end of the Tenth Five Year Plan in 2013, 51 percent of Bhutan’s labour force, at best, will have acquired primary education.

Given the above circumstances, what is the way forward? To begin with, we must get it right from the start, taking an important initiative toward qualitative and systemic improvements in education. To put it simply, we must pursue “Education Without Compromise.” This represents a call for:

1. Urgently transforming the education system to achieve radical improvements in educational outputs of Bhutanese students. Such goal-setting draws its aspiration from His Majesty the King’s address to the graduates of 2007: “It is no longer enough to say, ‘I am the best in Bhutan, ” His Majesty declared. “I expect you to be the best wherever you go in this world.” Moreover, this goal forces the necessary thinking about how to achieve quantum improvements in students’ academic achievements. But urgency is imperative; urgency is about execution.

2. Integrating the linkages among early childhood care and education, primary, secondary and non-formal education. While much can be done within each of these components, a great deal more can be accomplished through an acrossthe-board integration of efforts. In the process, this will build a sound foundation for improving the quality of tertiary education.

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1 1
& 2 Educate the Masses, Times of India, October 9, 2007

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

If present trends continue, at the end of the Tenth Five Year Plan (2013) the level of education of 51 percent of the nation’s workforce will be at or below Class VI – even as the economy further integrates into the globalised world. This is, however, a world in which a very high level of preparation in reading, writing, mathematics, science and literature will be indispensable for most members of the workforce. Thus, every working person in future generations will have to be much more productive than this generation, and children more productive than their parents. The challenge is not just about reversing trends in the education system: To quote His Majesty the King, we will “have to build a strong education system.” After extensively reviewing the education system, this Commission hopes that “Education Without Compromise” can help to create such a system that will educate Bhutanese students to world-class levels.

Overall, Bhutan has made great strides in education since its initiation in the country some four decades ago. At the same time, many issues remain to be addressed. We found, for example, that only 215 Bhutanese children are benefiting from the crucial intervention of Early Childhood Care and Education, even though high-quality ECCE is one of the best investments a nation can make in its young people. No national policy currently exists in the country on ECCE. The concept of pre-primary, or “PP,” in the country contrasts with international standards by tending strongly toward formal school experience – it is actually part of primary education – rather than developing school readiness.

Significant efforts will be needed to achieve University Primary Education by 2015; this will mean, at a minimum, enrolling all children of the officially prescribed age (6 years) in the 2009 school year. But this will not be easy, for numerous reasons: About 16,500 children of primary school age remain out of school, with primary dropout and repetition rates encompassing more than 10 percent of students. All this adds to illiteracy and indicates a high level of children who are not mastering the curriculum. Alarmingly, mean test scores in literacy and numeracy are very low, and the “learning rate” is so slow that an extra year in each grade is required to reach the average competency for that grade. Urban students’ better performance in all areas means that the system must be made more effective in reducing inequalities of educational opportunity.

Turning to secondary education (lower, middle and higher secondary as a whole), the situation is similar but challenges are even more pronounced. Barely 85 out of every 100 students enrolled in primary education progress to lower and middle secondary school – and of the latter, only a smaller number proceeds to higher secondary. Gender differences begin to show up, and average Class X test scores in English and maths are startlingly low. Only around 35 percent of Class XII students score high enough to be selected for admission to tertiary institutes – yet the cut off point is usually even lower than 60 percent, itself considered the bare minimum for satisfactory performance. At all levels, learning occurs within what this Commission found to be a “culture of passivity”. We strongly urge shifting from a culture of fear to a culture of engagement in classrooms; creating a culture of reading in schools; and strengthening both teacher in-service training and access to best practices.

In tertiary education, we found that Sherubtse College, the pinnacle of learning in the country, appears at risk of sliding into becoming a mediocre institution. In general, students

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do not seem fully engaged in learning, working only hard enough to score the 40 percent needed to pass. Accountability is weak for lecturers and students alike. Many buildings and classrooms are in disrepair, and faculty trust and professional morale are both low. Quality assurance of tertiary education as a whole is constrained by the fact that tertiary institutions’ missions are not well-aligned with long-term human resource development needs of the country, including that of the private sector, and that institutions suffer an acute shortage of qualified teaching staff, with no agreed performance indicators. Expansion of the pilot Continuing Education Programme is an urgent priority; high costs in so doing may be offset by “piggybacking” on educational and training services for adults in India.

The overwhelming conclusion from these analyses is that radical improvement is indispensable to achieve a quantum improvement in educational outputs and strengthen competitiveness of Bhutan’s economy in the globalised world. Bearing this in mind, this Commission has proposed seven strategies aimed at building a sound framework to educate Bhutanese to world-class levels. Intended to stimulate debate on the quality of education in the country, these recommendations have been drawn from reports and best practices of nations around the world with the best education systems. The seven strategies are:

Strategy 1:

Adopt international benchmarks for educating Bhutanese students and establish achievement levels against those standards.

Adopting International Standards

This would involve:

• Setting the standards of the board examinations, namely, BCSC for Class X and BHSEC for Class XII at the expectations incorporated in the examinations administered by the best-performing nations in the world such as Singapore and Finland.

• Overhauling the school curriculum including the current system of accessing students’ achievements to best fit the expectations mentioned above.

Establishing students’ achievement levels

In primary education, the above would involve drawing from the concept incorporated in the Minimum Levels of Learning model of India. In secondary education, a new BCSE examination for Class X would be established at international standards, with students able to take the test repeatedly. Results of the BCSE would lead to two “streaming” programmes to be created at higher secondary level, an Upper Secondary Academic Programme, providing demanding college preparation courses, and a Technical Preparation Programme, allowing students to sample a range of technical and occupational programmes. This would provide an opportunity for less capable students to develop at their own pace. A new BHSEC for Class XII at international expectations also would be established in order to qualify for enrolment in tertiary education.

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Strategy 2:

Improve teachers’ quality by transforming their compensation system and restructuring teacher recruitment and education

Teachers’ salaries would be performance-based, as measured against students’ test achievements; this would mean moving away from compensation based on years of service. Teachers also could be tested every five years, with those who fail at risk of losing their jobs. Extra compensation would be provided for senior and experienced teachers willing to be posted in remote areas or in schools where there are recruiting problems, as well as for those willing to teach in subject areas with shortages, such as mathematics and science. Creation of an autonomous Agency for Teacher Development (ATD), vested with a mission to recruit and retain the best and brightest as teachers, would allow teachers to be de-linked from the civil service. Offering salaries at levels comparable to better-paid professionals in the country, the ATD could recruit candidates from the Government, army, or good teachers who had gone on to other careers. It would reinstate the practice of recruiting expatriate teachers as “permanent employees,” rather than on short-term contracts. Lastly, the ATD could write performance contracts with the two Colleges of Education for training of teacher trainees, and could cancel these contracts if trainees do not meet performance criteria.

Strategy 3:

Provide high-quality, universal Early Childhood Education.

Urgent policy and operational decisions should be taken to develop a national policy on Early Childhood Care and Education, including adopting an ECCE curriculum possibly based on the Singapore model. De-linking pre-primary (PP) from primary education would keep all young children aged 3 to 6 years out of the formal education sphere; participation of 3- and 4-year-olds in pre-primary education could be voluntary, but should be mandatory for 5- and 6-year-olds in order to enroll in Class I. Ideally, the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children would be covered by the entire four-year programme. Criteria for ECCE staff should be established, and community-based programmes may be considered. Coverage and quality of Non-Formal Education (NFE) should be increased, targeted at the poorest young mothers, in recognition of the fact that educated mothers serve as a “multiplier” for children’s education.

Strategy 4: Achieve Universal Primary Education.

Efforts toward achieving UPE can be targeted toward out-of-school children, by coming up with a programme specifically designed to attract and retain these children in school; creation of a comprehensive database for analysing dropout, retention, survival and completion rates and producing “school report cards;” and to benefit the poorest families, elimination of the requirements of school uniforms and payment of fees in all primary schools, ensuring free access to textbooks and school stationery, and covering every primary school under the School Feeding Programme. Improved “learning gains” could be made by reactivating the National Students’ Service (NSS) to run remedial education programmes in primary schools

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for children who are lagging in their studies. Volunteers in the reactivated NSS would be chosen from top recent college graduates (based on criteria such as their academic performance and aptitudes toward voluntary services) and would be paid generous

allowances; following completion of two years of service, they would be given preferred recruitment in the civil service and/or awarded a fellowship for higher studies abroad.

Strategy 5:

Create high-performance schools based on the best systems of governance, finance, organisation and management.

Radically changing the reality of school bureaucracies can help to create high-performance schools in Bhutan. Drawing from global best practices, it will be important for the Ministry of Education (MoE) to provide leadership and support toward this end, through establishing school accountability without micromanaging. This can be achieved by empowering schools administratively and financially, as well as strengthening high-quality technical assistance from MoE. Relevant officials, including Dzongkhag Education Officers, would be given the mission to create a positive climate of respect and trust between schools and education headquarters, communicating clear goals and expectations and functioning as service organisations that see schools and students as “clients.” Involvement of parents and communities in school performance should be strengthened, in part focusing School Management Boards on policy rather than operational issues.

Strategy 6:

Support students who need it most.

Following a detailed screening assessment, a school intervention process could be developed that helps students to stay on track and at grade level. This could include tutoring, “double scheduling” in target areas, and other initiatives. Provisions could be created for access to after-school extended day programming as well as mentors, along with health and social services at or near schools to increase the chances of students being healthy and ready to learn. In some cases, establishment of residential schools may be necessary to best support these students.

Strategy 7:

Ensure quality assurance of higher education.

This can be achieved through integration of the primary, secondary and higher education systems in the country into a seamless whole, linking academic, professional and vocational programmes and making the education system globally responsive. Alignment of the system to long-term human resources and development perspectives, making graduates “fit for market,” will be critical. Clear guidelines and relationships should be established between MoE and the Royal University of Bhutan, or other appropriate bodies, with regard to regulation and coordination of higher education. Guidelines also are required on membership for tertiary education institutions in the Royal University of Bhutan, including future private

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higher education facilities. To ensure “the right education at the right time,” MoE, the Royal University of Bhutan and other tertiary education institutions should maintain strategic alliances with other human resources development partners such as the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources, the Royal Civil Service Commission and private sector bodies. Cooperation and collaboration with other quality assurance systems must be encouraged.

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CHAPTER I: Bhutan’s Development of Education

Education has been the central player in the transformation of Bhutan from a traditional society to a dynamic, confident participant in regional and global affairs.

The provision and promotion of free education has been part of the success story of Bhutan’s effort to make education accessible to all its citizens. The primary enrolment rate stands at about 83 percent. With the establishment of the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB), the educational destiny of the country is taking a further new turn.

The main goals of Bhutan’s education sector have been to:

• Provide basic cost-effective and sustainable education to all Bhutanese, equipping citizens with basic literacy skills and functional knowledge and values within the Bhutanese cultural context

• Provide general secondary education on a selective basis, helping to build the necessary human capacity for further specialised education and training in science, technology, business and education, among others

• Provide higher education in selected fields, preparing key people to deliver and continuously upgrade services and industries in the country, as well as to enable Bhutan to engage in the continuous search for knowledge

• Establish an enabling environment imparting wholesome education to children and youth

• Provide opportunities, especially for those who have missed out on formal education, to attain basic and functional literacy through non-formal and adult literacy programmes

• Promote a system of continuous and lifelong learning

At the heart of the Bhutanese education system is the desire to integrate the best in our cherished cultural and national values with the best in modern knowledge and technological developments from abroad, harnessing them to serve the best interests of the country.

Bhutan’s current formal education structure consists of seven years of primary schooling (Classes Pre-Primary to VI), along with six years of secondary education, comprising two years of lower secondary (Classes VII-VIII), two years of middle secondary (Classes IX-X), and two years of higher secondary (Classes XI-XII). This is followed by three years of undergraduate programmes in the country’s tertiary institutes, with smaller numbers of students going abroad for professional and postgraduate studies. The recent establishment of the Royal University of Bhutan is expected to cater to Bhutan’s higher education needs and aspirations.

Enrolment Patterns and Changes in Basic Education

In the early 1950s, modern education was a totally new concept, far different from the traditional monastic education system, where education and religious studies were seen as synonymous. In the beginning, schools were few and far between, making it necessary for the Royal Government to send many students to boarding schools in India. Most parents

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were particularly hesitant to send their daughters away to school; over the years, such hesitancy has diminished, however. Thus, female enrolment is today nearly at par with male enrolment, at least at the primary level.

Until the 1970s, Class VI represented the basic education level. As the country advanced, the requirements changed; by 1996, basic education had been raised to Class VIII. In 1999 this level was further raised to Class X, meaning that all Bhutanese can receive free education until that level with Royal Government support. Further education is highly selective and needs-based.

Non-Formal and Continuing Education Programmes

In spite of strong progress in education since planned development began in the country barely four decades ago, many people in remote corners of our country have missed the opportunity of attending school. The Ministry of Education has therefore established a vigorous programme of Non-Formal and Continuing Education to provide basic education opportunities to disadvantaged sections of the population.

Today there exist about 400 non-formal education (NFE) centres, spread across all 20 dzongkhags and covering some 18,000 adult women and men – about 70 percent of the adult illiterate population. What is especially encouraging is that the percentage of women in NFE programmes is more than twice that of men.

Traditional Values and IT

Bhutan’s identity is imbued with a value system anchored in the spiritual legacy of the country. What the Education Department recognises as “wholesome education” is a goal of cultivating the personal, academic, intellectual, psychological, emotional, spiritual, social and occupational dimensions of all Bhutanese children so that they grow up well-balanced, properly integrated and sensitive human beings. In all, the expectation is that children will grow up to be an asset to themselves as well as to society at large.

The country also has come a long way in ensuring a national teaching force. Today there are more than 6,000 educators, a dramatic change from the early 1960s, when there were barely 40. Bhutan now has a commendable teacher-student ratio of 1:32.

In recent years, Bhutan has particularly recognised the importance of integrating the tools of Information Technology into the education system; the intent is to bring the knowledge and information available around the world into our classrooms. In an age of “information explosion,” and as Bhutan becomes an increasingly knowledge-based society; the benefits made available through modern technology hardly need emphasising.

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Looking Ahead

Education will continue receiving a high priority in the development policy of the Royal Government as it pursues the goals of improving citizens’ quality of life as well as enhancing the human resources to meet the country’s needs. More specifically, the thrust of the education sector will be in:

• Expansion of basic education to cover the entire population

• Improvement of the quality and relevance of education to address the holistic development of the child, including innate abilities, social cohesion, national imperatives and the world of work, encompassing agriculture and other vocations

• Development of a highly motivated and competent teaching cadre that supports a holistic approach to education and learning

• Utilisation of educational innovations and new technologies to increase access to education and improve its quality

• Development of private schools to allow for greater choice in curricula and teaching-learning approaches, as well as lessen to the resource burden on the Royal Government and allow it to focus on improving Government schools, among others

As Bhutan looks increasingly beyond its national boundaries for access to global knowledge and skills, education will continue providing it with the leverage to propel itself forward.

The Advent of the University

The country’s desire for a place in the intellectual arena came to fulfilment on 2 June 2003, when the Royal University of Bhutan was established, coinciding with the celebration of the 29th anniversary of the coronation of His Majesty Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth hereditary Monarch of Bhutan.

Comprising existing colleges and institutes that are expected to grow into centres of excellence, the university will include major functions of knowledge development, personnel development and provision of services, among others. More specifically, it will:

• Institute programmes of studies and granting of degrees, including postgraduate and doctorate

• Create qualified human resources to serve the professional sector of the fastexpanding economy

• Monitor course quality and teaching effectiveness in member institutions

• Establish criteria for and accredit member institutions

• Coordinate exchange and sharing of resources among member institutions

• Oversee development and delivery of relevant curricula

• Guide the direction, dimension and quality of higher education in the country

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It is hoped that the Royal University of Bhutan will embody the true tradition of higher education.

Concerns and Challenges

The Royal Government has not only is deeply committed to providing free basic education to all Bhutanese children, but it also has signed the international Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Education for All document. Likewise, it has created a wide network of schools and non-formal education centres across the country. Enrolment has grown so rapidly, however, that has become difficult to cope with the demand – and quality is often at stake. Concern has been expressed at all levels of society over a perceived decline in standards of education, with student performance particularly worrisome in mathematics, languages and the sciences.

In addition, it is widely believed that the quality of teachers leaves much to be desired; that leadership needs to be more inspiring; that curriculum should maintain a desirable level of integrity; that values need to be practised rather than talked about; and a host of other issues that affect education.

Especially in a country like Bhutan, with a small population, every citizen needs to be properly educated. Research and development are crucial to the education process. To this end, the newly instituted, independent Royal Education Council is expected to render counsel and support to the Ministry of Education.

Education Sector Review Commission

In view of the system-wide concerns over education quality, the Royal Government of Bhutan decided to institute a 10-member National Education Sector Review Commission to examine the state of education and recommend actions to address the problem. The Executive Order issued by the Honourable Prime Minister on 1 November 2006 requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of the system as per the Terms of Reference and submit the report to the Government within one year.

Overall, the state of the nation’s education system is as revealing as it is worrying. However, since education is founded on the principles of hope and achievement, there exists legitimate reason to be confident that with the correct measures in place, the system can be as robust and efficient as we all wish it to be.

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CHAPTER II: Early Childhood Care and Education

Why Does ECCE Matter?

In the international context, the first goal of the Education For All Dakar Framework for Action 2000 calls for “expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.” Moreover, UNICEF has declared that the international community should award far greater recognition to the role of ECCE in a broader global anti-poverty strategy, stating: “Reaching the Millennium Development Goals and reducing poverty depends on efforts to support young children’s rights to health, education, protection and equality. Holistic ECCE can make a major difference in reducing poverty and hunger (MDG1) and child mortality (MDG4), and can help combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDG6)” (UNICEF, 2003).

In addition, extensive global research has concluded:

• Early intervention is crucial: it is far more challenging and costly to compensate for educational and social disadvantages among older children and adults than to provide preventative measures and support in early childhood (UNESCO)

• Children from the poorest backgrounds benefit most from ECCE provision in term of care, education and health

• Developing ECCE programmes while improving the functioning of primary schools is likely to result in more timely entry into the school system and less grade repetition, thus allowing additional enrolment

• High-quality early childhood education is one of the best investments a nation can make in its young people

It should come as no surprise, then, that OECD countries provide children with access to at least two years of free ECCE before they begin primary school.

Defining ECCE

According to UNESCO, ECCE refers to a wide range of programmes “all aimed at physical, cognitive and social development of children before they enter primary school –theoretically, from birth to about age 7 or 8.” Such programmes, it adds, “contribute to good child development outcomes that set the foundation for lifelong learning and help in the monitoring of health and nutrition status during this critical period of development.” (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007)

Broadly, ECCE programme can be grouped as follows:

a) Home Care programmes cater to children up to age 2 years. The term “care” in this context encompasses “attention to health, hygiene and nutrition within a nurturing and safe environment that supports children’s cognitive and socio-emotional well being.” (UNESCO)

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Such care can be best given in a familiar and natural environment – the home. However, changes in family structure and increased employment of women have led to the establishment of day care facilities (crèches) for infants and toddlers.

b) Early Childhood Education programmes cater to children aged 3 to 6 years. In addition to providing “care,” such programmes include organised learning or early childhood education. It should be noted, however, “education” in the early childhood years is much broader than schooling, capturing learning through early stimulation, guidance and a range of developmental activities and opportunities. In practice, care and education cannot be separated, and good-quality provision for young children necessarily addresses both dimensions. (UNESCO).

The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) defines pre-primary education under ECCE as ISCED Level 0, compromising programmes that offer structured, purposeful learning activities in a centre (as oppose to the home) to children aged at least 3 years. (UNESCO, 1977) Such programmes are normally held to include organised, experience-based learning activities. In particular, they encourage school readiness through:

• Physical well-being and motor development

• Social and emotional development

• Approaches to learning

• Language development

• Cognition and general knowledge

The Current Situation in Bhutan

No national policy currently exists in Bhutan on ECCE (also known as Early Childhood Care and Development, or ECCD). Pending formulation of this policy, “the Government has allowed some private-sector initiatives through the establishment of nursery schools in the larger urban centres. These schools require the payment of fees and, consequently, are attended mostly by the children of more well-to-do parents” (Education Sector Strategy, 2003).

The above is reflected in the current status of ECCD (also known as ECCE, or Early Childhood Care and Education) in the country:

• Six daycare centres, mostly in Thimphu, Punakha, Paro and Phuentsholing, are providing 2 to 3 years of preschool education for about 200 3- to 5-year-olds. Clearly, the needs of only a very small proportion of young children are being met this way.

• Several issues also exist concerning the daycare programmes, including staff training; state of the centres’ physical environment, including availability of appropriate play and educational equipment; and clarity of curriculum goals. It also appears that all six centres are struggling for financial sustainability.

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‘Pre-Primary’: A Distinctive Approach

At the same time, in Bhutan the General Education Curriculum includes one year of preprimary (PP) as well as Classes I to VI. Notwithstanding the designation PP, “pre-primary” in the country is “very much formal schooling,” in contrast to international expectations, it has been found. 2 The Review of Primary Education (Department of Education/UNICEF/SDC) commented that in most PP classes:

The aim of the teachers seems to be to get [the children] onto the readers, formal arithmetic and book work as quickly as possible, so that they will be ready for Class I. The Pre-Primary grade does not function as preschool (as intended) but seems to be already Class I, so that the primary education in Bhutan in fact lasts for seven years.

As such, “PP experiences” are formal school experiences because of the widely held notion that it should prepare children for Class I.

Conclusion

1. Little planning has been done for preschool education and care of Bhutanese children, as shown by the low numbers involved nationwide. This is particularly unfortunate, given that children from households with no literate parents are in greatest need of preschool education.

2. Conceptually, a distinction needs to be made between the ISCED Level 0 concept of “pre-primary education” and the much-misunderstood Bhutanese concept of “PP.” In practice, the latter is intended to prepare children for Class I, whereas broadly, preprimary education under ECCE is intended primarily to promote children’s holistic development.

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2 Mark Bray, UNESCO consultant, The Costs and Finance of Primary Schools in Bhutan.

CHAPTER III: Universal Primary Education

The goals and processes for achieving Bhutan’s aspirations in the education sector are defined in the “Education Sector Strategy: Realising the Vision 2020” (see Box 1). This strategy forms the basics for achieving Universal Primary Education (UPE) by 2015 under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and for achieving the fundamental goal of equity under the Dakar Declaration (see Box 2).

Box 1: Education Sector Strategy: Realising the Vision 2020, Bhutan

The Education Sector Strategy articulates how Bhutan will achieve its long-term vision in the education sector as part of wider national development principles that address the country’s unique needs and priorities for attaining Gross National Happiness. The Vision 2020 document provides the following milestones for the sector:

Universal Primary Enrolment (UPE)

Full enrolment of junior high school (Class VIII)

Full enrolment of high school (Class X)

Full adaptation of secondary school curricula to the Bhutanese context

Student competencies equivalent to average level by international standards

Student competencies equivalent to excellence level by international standards

International standards

Introduction of an operational distance education programme

Full adult literacy

Source: Ministry of Education, 2003

- 2007

- 2007

- 2012

- 2007

- 2010

- 2020

- 2020

- 2007

- 2012

UPE means “that all children of primary-school participate in the school system and complete primary school” (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007). So that all Bhutanese children are becoming “primary graduates” by 2015, this requires: (a) beginning pre-primary (PP) enrolment of all children for the academic session 2009 at the officially prescribed age, i.e., 6 years; and (b) the acquisition of these children of basic skills – reading, writing and numeracy – and their progression from PP to Class VI within a national time frame of 7 years. This further implies that the school system will have the capacity to accommodate entire cohorts of children, as well as to provide a quality education. In other words, for UPE quantitative and qualitative objectives are inseparable.

Achieving Gender Parity

Gender disparity in primary school enrolment is characteristic of many countries with low overall enrolment. Thus, with its Gender Parity Index of 83.9 percent for boys and 83.5 percent for girls (2007), Bhutan’s progress in achieving gender parity in primary education is commendable, reflecting little if any discrimination against girls’ enrolment in school. This is an important factor in achieving UPE; the latter by definition calls for gender parity. At the secondary, there is a decline in girls’ participation, however.

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Box 2: The Dakar Framework for Action and Millennium Development Goals

Education For All Dakar Goals

1. Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children

2. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality

3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes

4. Achieving a 50 percent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults

5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to (and achievement in) basic education of good quality

6. Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognised and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills

Millennium Development Goals

Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education

Target 3: Ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling

Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women

Target 4: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and at all levels of education no later than 2015

Source: UNESCO

Bhutan’s Status on Enrolment

Enrolment is the measurable indicator of progress toward UPE. In 2006-2007, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) and Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) in primary education were 105 percent and 83 percent respectively. What does this imply?

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• A total of 105 percent GER is not necessarily a sign of progress toward UPE, although it indicates that the school system has the quantitative capacity to enroll all

children at the official age; some schools are resorting to a “shift system” to accommodate the increased numbers. Even so, in many Bhutanese schools – particularly in rural areas – it appears that strong moves will be necessary for UPE to be achieved: 65 percent of enrolment is concentrated in urban and semi-urban areas, which comprise only 35 percent of schools.

• Meanwhile, an NER at or near 100 percent implies UPE; thus, an NER of 83 percent may give an impression that the country is on track toward this goal. However, a progression from 83 percent to 100 percent is not straightforward, since the last 15 to 20 percent of school-age cohorts usually include the hardest-to-reach children. Moreover, their background characteristics are such that they require specifically prepared polices and programmes to attract and retain them in school. Ironically, Bhutan’s relatively high and stable NER since 2001-2002 is actually a sign of how difficult it is proving to enrol this category of children. In other words, even in purely quantitative terms, achieving UPE requires “out-of-the-box” initiatives.

Out-of-School Children

The enrolment figure for 2007 shows that 16.3 percent, or 16,500, primary-age children (612 years) are out of formal schooling. (Some of these children could be studying in monistic institutes or in school abroad. Some of them may join the formal schooling after the officially prescribed age) As noted above, the background characteristics and needs of these children are different:

• Even when primary education is “free,” according to a UNICEF survey, families have to bear costs over a six-month period of Nu.1,729 per pupil for uniforms, school food, fees and other contributions. These expenses can and do act as a major deterrent for poor households in enrolling or retaining children in primary education.

• Similarly, “economic compulsion” was found by the report Toward a Pro-Poor Development Strategy for Bhutan 2005 as a key reason why “Bhutan is still some way behind the goal of universal primary education.” This report added: “… persistent poverty of the household, rather than access to schooling facilities, now remains the major stumbling block toward achieving the goal of universal primary education.”

• Lastly, UPE’s central concern is equity in learning outcomes, access and retentions

but it is not enough to simply bring education services closer to the doorstep of the hardest-to-reach. Instead, it requires initiating targeted polices and programmes that can rescue families, many of them rural, who are caught in an intergenerational poverty trap. “Children born in poor families cannot always avail of the educational opportunities open to them,” researchers found. “And lack of education condemns them to a life of poverty for themselves and their own children in future.”(Toward a Pro-Poor Development Strategy for Bhutan 2005)

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CHAPTER IV: Status of Primary Education

Bhutan’s status and quality of primary education have been assessed through the key determinants of retention, grade repetition and learners’ academic achievements.

Retention

Based on data for the last six years (2001-2002 through 2006-2007), the following characterises the situation regarding primary school dropouts:

• On average, the primary school dropout rate (during the six year period) was 2.87 percent per grade annually. As many as 3,621 children did not complete five years of schooling. This adds to the illiterate population of the country, given that the Royal Government has declared that “five years of education is required to ensure literacy and numeracy. Children leaving earlier are still illiterate.” 3

• More than 2,240 children drop out (during the six year period) after reaching the last primary grade, and cohort completion rates are lower than survival rates. Thus, the number of years of schooling is a practically useful but conceptually dubious proxy for the processes that take place there and the outcomes that result. Consequently, the latter provides a better way of judging the condition of primary education.

• Returns may be insignificant for children who drop out after, for example, a couple of unsuccessful years of school attendance, compared with those that a complete primary education would bring. Reducing drop out rates is, therefore, crucial.

Grade Repetition

Grade repetition appears a hallmark of the primary education system, in spite of a nondetention directive by the Ministry of Education and anecdotal evidence suggesting overly lenient awarding of marks under the Continuous Assessment system. This is mirrored in the repetition status for 2001-2002 through 2006-2007:

• The repetition rate, on average, stood at 8.5 percent per grade annually, indicating the proportion of children who are not mastering the curriculum. A high level of grade repetition is a sign of a dysfunctional school system, exacerbating the dropout and resulting in overcrowded schools.

• In primary education, Grade IV has had the highest repetition rate every year since 2001-2002. As will be discussed below, this could be due to a low level of overall “learning gain.”

• Surprisingly, even in PP the repetition rate is 10.3 percent per year, in large part because many young children are being enrolled in PP before they are age 6. This results in a highly “uneven” age group of PP pupils. It also represents a further 3 MoE, General Statistics 2007. All data in this chapter are from MoE General Statistics 2006 and 2007.

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signal that ECCE for children younger than 6 has not been given the attention it merits.

• The rate of grade repetition is one indicator for measuring the efficiency of the education system, given that repetition is equivalent to an additional year of participation per child. Accordingly, where grade repetition is high some improvements in quality may be largely self-financing, simply by reducing the average time completers spend in school.

Academic Achievement

A major objective of all educational systems is learners’ cognitive development, and the degree to which a system actually achieves this is one indicator of quality. An important measure of the latter is represented by test scores, which helps to assess learners’ achievements.

Bearing this in mind, the following summarises the findings of (a) the 2003 National Education Assessment (NEA) in the core subjects of English (literacy) and numeracy for Class VI, and (b) a 2007 World Bank education quality survey of primary schools in Bhutan (Classes II and IV):

A. NEA Findings:

1. The mean test scores were 23.08 out of 50 in numeracy and 26 out of 50 in literacy.

2. Boys outperformed girls in numeracy (see below). In addition, those who liked mathematics tended to do well in the subject.

3. The performance of students on a geometry sub-test appeared very poor: 38 percent of students got 0 out of 9 marks and another 40 percent got only 1 mark out of 9.

4. Similarly, the performance of students on an algebra sub-test also appeared very poor: 31 percent of students got 0 out of 5 marks and about 36 percent got only 1 mark out of 5.

5. Girls outperformed boys in literacy

6. English teachers needed more help in teaching grammar.

7. Both English and mathematics teachers relied heavily on textbooks as a teaching resource.

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Gender Numeracy Mean (total 50) Male 23.54 Female 22.51
Gender Literacy Mean (total 50) Male 25.81 Female 26.44

8. Teachers in general have relatively little in-service education to update their own skills and refresh and enhance professional knowledge.

9. Urban students outperformed semi-urban, rural and remote students in all cases.

10. The shorter the distance a pupil travelled every day to school, the better the performance.

11. Very little professional support appeared to be provided to schools from the dzongkhags.

12. Major constraints to teachers’ professional duties included too many school activities, class size and lack of resources.

B. Findings of World Bank’s Bhutan Learning Quality Survey (the Learning Quality Survey):

1. Except for Dzongkha, community schools record the lowest scores in English and Mathematics.

2. The overall rate of learning is low.

• Average learning ability in Class IV is higher than expected learning competency in Class II by only half a standard deviation.

• Alarmingly, this implies that at the current rate of learning, it will take the average student in Class II another year to reach the average competency for that grade.

C. Outcomes of the Findings:

• NEA findings show that achievement levels of learners in core subjects, particularly mathematics, at the end of primary education are disappointingly low (see Boxes 3 and 4). Such learning levels clearly indicate the poor quality of teaching/learning in classrooms.

• Given current dropout rates from primary school, NEA tests show that even academically better-off children are performing poorly, particularly in mathematics.

• Alarmingly, the overall “learning gain” is slow: one additional year per grade is required to reach the average competency for that grade. This implies that children are not mastering the curriculum within the prescribed time, resulting in high primary school grade repetition. Achievement levels tend to decline as children move along from PP to Class IV. Apparently, this decline is worst in Class IV, which consistently had the highest overall primary education repetition rate for 2001/2002-2006/2007, at 11.8 percent. Even among those children who get through Class IV, a significant number either repeat or drop out in Class V and /or Class VI. It can be surmised that a high proportion of children are completing the primary cycle without acquiring basic skills in reading, writing and numeracy.

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• Most children substandard mastery in core subjects indicates a major gap in levels of understanding. If children do not acquire competencies at primary level, particularly

• in English and maths, they will encounter serious learning challenges later. This also is demonstrated by results that Class VII had one of the highest secondary education repetition rates (10.9 percent) and dropout rates (7.15 percent) in the six-year period studied.

• NEA, designed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the education system as a whole, uses assessments that are curriculum-based and subject-oriented, generally covering Dzongkha, English and numeracy. So far, the assessment does not cover other aspects of learning, such as creativity and critical thinking (as assessed under some international testing systems). It is equally important, however, to incorporate an assessment of creativity and critical thinking in order to have a complete view of learning.

• Especially worryingly, because urban students performed best in all cases under the NEA, this means that the education system has not been effective in contributing to greater equity in educational opportunities. Yet “educational attainment is one, if not the major, determinant of life chances and the opportunity to escape poverty.” (World Bank 2005 and National Human Development Report, UNDP 2005).

Conclusion

1. Urgent and significant efforts need to be made to achieve UPE by 2015

2. Learners’ achievement in Bhutan is very low, and the most important challenge for primary education is to improve educational outcomes of children

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Box 3. Teaching mathematics

“The fear of maths sets in early, mostly because the introduction to the subject has been faulty, thanks to inconsiderate maths teachers and parents,” The Times of India reported recently on the continuing issue of maths phobia (5 August 2007).

Following a study in 2000-2002, the Indian National Council of Education and Training (NCERT) had recommended the abolition of rushing through mathematical steps on a blackboard. Instead, it urged that maths be taught via lab experiments. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has already introduced maths labs and made them part of board exams. Yet as one principal noted in The Times of India report: “Maths deals with abstract values and numbers which, taken out of context in a sum, don’t mean anything – and it is this incomprehensible nature of the subject that drives in the fear.”

While no studies have so far been conducted in Bhutan to identify the causes of low maths scores, it may be assumed that for many, the fear of maths and the methods employed (memorisation and chalk-and-board methods, taught out of context) constitute the main reasons. To be sure, the NEA survey revealed that more than 1 in 3 students – a high 35.9 percent – disliked maths as a subject. While changing teaching methods and improving quality and standards of mathematics represent long-term solutions, Bhutan should be open to sharing best practices resulting from empirical studies in the region. We also should not shy way from enlisting the help of countries and organisations that have expertise in teaching maths; JICA, for example, has projects in Strengthening Mathematics and Science in Secondary Schools (SMASSE), which emphasises a paradigm shift to activity-based teaching and student-focused learning through small-scale experiments and improvisations. An inservice education and training programme trains teachers to focus on strategies that demystify maths and science by relating the subjects to students’ real-life experiences, providing them with opportunities to develop key competencies such as problem solving.

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Box 4. Teaching English

Bhutan should take pride in the fact that we are a linguistically rich nation, with 19 languages and dialects. Yet understanding and appreciating this unique Bhutanese asset, one will also immediately empathise with a 6-year-old child’s experience on the first day of school: It can be bewildering, placed in a new environment and suddenly exposed to new languages, Dzongkha and English.

A general consensus exists that the quality of English instruction and learning in Bhutan leaves much to be desired, with ongoing debates in various forums and individual concerns frequently expressed. These are justifiable, considering that the medium of instruction in our schools is English, which also is a language of administration – and thus, Bhutan should have comparative mastery and a linguistic advantage. Many Bhutanese have a talent for multilingualism, speaking their mother tongue, Dzongkha, English, Hindi, Nepali and others; thus, English is often the second if not third language for most, although it is often taught as a first language. Yet extensive research has shown that children who begin their education in their mother tongue make a better start, and continue to perform better, than those for whom school introduces a new language. At the same time, without some level of competency in the pre-eminent international language, Bhutan will lose out in the international arena.

In order to help the Ministry of Education focus on improving the standard of English in the country, the Ministry’s Policy and Planning Division turned to the UNDP-sponsored Solution Exchange forum, inviting “ideas and best practices on feasible ways to improve the English standard of our students within the next three to five years.” Some of the comments and suggestions were as follows:

Language familiarisation before regular school: Ideally, children have to be familiarised with new languages for at least a year in pre-primary school, before they come to primary school. If the provision of independent pre-primary schools is not within the MoE mandate for the time being, existing primary schools may have to add a year of pre-primary as an autonomous but affiliated part of school. The pre-primary school should be more of a play school, where the children are gently exposed to the new languages and the idea of school.

Teacher quality to ensure quality build-up of language capacity: Teachers must be competent and proficient. At education colleges, make competency in the English language the most important criteria for achievement for teacher trainees. Design of standard, internationally accepted English tests for all Bhutanese and expatriate teachers also may be considered. In addition, teachers should be specially trained to teach English as a second language. Teachers’ professional skills need constant updating.

Make English-language learning appealing, fun, interactive and innovative: The practice of rote learning – teaching from the textbook and “teaching for tests” – should be replaced by learning based on inquiry/curiosity, in teacher training colleges as well as schools.

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CHAPTER V: Factors Influencing Learning Achievements in Primary Education

Based on available data 4 and the studies undertaken by this Commission, the factors influencing children’s achievements in primary education have been categorised under Home Background, School Characteristics and Learner Characteristics.

Home Background Factors

Among home background factors, those significantly affecting children’s learning achievements include:

• Socioeconomic status of the family. Persistent household poverty acts as a major stumbling block for children from such households in accessing school facilities, as noted in the Bhutan Living Standard Survey. On the other hand, a UNICEF study shows that, even in the “free” Government schools, parents have to pay for uniforms, school food, fees and other contributions, resulting in a considerable total for a poor family. Consequently, the cost of schooling is one of the main “push” factors that result in high dropout rates in primary education. Clearly, a strong negative association exists between poverty and children’s achievements.

• Educational level of household head. The Learning Quality Survey found that, on average, “children with a literate father have a quarter of a standard deviation higher score in maths and two-fifths of a standard deviation higher score in English.” It can be hypothesised that educated parents generally encourage their children to attend school regularly, help them with homework, and create a conducive home environment in terms of providing facilities for learning, all of which have positive impacts on children’s learning outcomes. Conversely, parental illiteracy has a negative association with achievement. A case study in India’s Bihar state found some association between large number of students scoring 0 on achievement tests and their parents’ illiteracy.5

• Education of the mother is more conspicuously related to children’s achievements. “On the average, children with a literate mother have a quarter or more of a standard deviation higher score in English and maths compare to children whose mother did not attend primary school,” said the Learning Quality Survey. Another study in India found that children of mothers with no schooling are likelier not to be enrolled or to drop out and, more importantly, that the gender gap in families where the mother never went to school is wider. 5

• Smaller family size

positively contributes to higher achievement. Households with a higher dependency ratio tend to be poorer, the Living Standard Survey reported. In other words, a smaller family is usually in a better position to meet the costs of

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4&6 Annual
Education Report
Status of
2006, India.

schooling. Studies in India have concluded that the presence of a large number of siblings exerts a negative influence on achievements, given that the greater the number of siblings, the less time parents can devote individual attention to children. 6

• Distance travelled to school likewise correlates to achievements. As per the NEA findings for Class VI, the mean score of students who travel less than a half-hour is highest, with further differences in the mean scores of those who travel between 1 and 3 hours to school.

School Characteristics Factors

School characteristics significantly influence on learning outcomes. Key school factors include:

• Teacher quality clearly has a major impact on children’s overall achievements scores. As per the Learning Quality Survey, the correlation between teacher quality and learning outcomes is as follows:

a) Variation in teacher quality explains 26 to 45 percent of variation in test scores

b) Teacher quality variation effects are highest for English and lowest for Dzongkha

c) Teacher quality variation declined in Class IV for Dzongkha and Maths but increased for English.

d) Teacher quality variation is greater than school quality variation in English and Maths, although the pattern across subjects is similar.

Teacher qualification also is negatively affected by the following

a) A marked difference appears to exist in the standards/level of professional and general education attended by primary-education English and Maths teachers (NEA Class VI findings). Put simply, teachers’ own educational qualifications as well as professional training are suspect. This appears to have resulted in children scoring particularly low marks in Maths in the NEA tests.

b) Teachers rely almost exclusively on textbooks for teaching, with the proportion of textbook use at more than 95 percent (NEA findings for Class VI). This means teaching methods are traditional, with an emphasis on memorisation rather than understanding of concepts.

c) According to UNESCO (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005), the share of teachers who had been absent in the week prior to this survey stood at 14 percent in Bhutan.

• School quality

. In a attempt to assess the difference in children’s attainment on tests because of differences in school quality, the Learning Quality Survey identified teacher characteristics that emerged as “robust predictors of learning outcomes across subjects and grades:”

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6 Ibid.

a) Share of female teachers: positive impact on achievements

b) Share of teachers with professional qualifications: positive impact on achievements

c) Share of teachers who have undergone School-Based In-Service Training (SBIP): positive impact on achievements

Differences in school quality, defined in terms of the above characteristics, explain 25 to 45 percent of variances in attainment. School-specific effects vary by subject, being highest for English and lowest for Dzongkha. It should be noted that, within its methodology, the Survey did not examine other important aspects of school quality that also may strongly affect children’s attainment.

• Availability of textbooks or learning materials. Clearly, schools without textbooks or learning materials will not be able to do an effective job. In that sense, textbooks are important for children’s achievements; therefore, the Commission investigated the status of the availability of textbooks in schools. Only 65.8 percent of student respondents had textbooks, leaving 34.2 percent – more than one-third – without texts. Moreover, of those without books, only 78.2 percent could share with those who had books. The remaining 21.8 percent – nearly 1 in 4 – neither had books nor could borrow from friends. Given the difficulty of accessing textbooks, it is understandable that not all children are willing share their books, although quality of the printing may be very poor (see Box 5). At the same time, it is equally understandable why so many children’s achievements are disappointingly low. One study in India shows that schools where all children had textbooks score two to three times higher than children who had some or none. 7

Box 5. Quality and standards of textbooks

Recently Thailand, following the example of many developed countries, introduced textbooks printed on cream-coloured paper that is “eye-friendly.” This paper is not as lightreflective, providing greater reading comfort than conventional printing paper. While the Thai initiative may seem like a luxury, far from the Bhutan’s realities, attention must be drawn to challenges involving Bhutanese textbook quality.

The Commission found the condition of many textbooks to be very poor, not only because of wear and tear but because they were poorly produced, using sub-quality paper. The books’ photos and illustrations, which should serve as excellent visual aids for learners, are in fact indistinct and masses of fused colours. This defeats their very purpose. Textbooks should be such that children will enjoy using and owning them. In the long run, better-quality books using superior paper are cheaper, given that they are more durable than cheaply produced books, which have to be replaced regularly. In addition, it is more environment-friendly to produce fewer, better-quality books than mass quantities of cheap books. Similarly, even the exercise books provided to some schools need to be monitored. During the Commission’s visits to schools, some head teachers showed us samples of poor-quality exercise books and requested Commission members to “tell the concerned authorities that such stationery cannot be used.” The paper was so thin that a pencil pierces it when children write in the exercise book.

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7 7 & 8 Annual Status of Education Report 2006, India

• Health and nutrition. A clear-cut link exists between health and learning. Ill health affects attendance, retention, cognitive development and academic performance. Recent studies also reveal a negative relationship between health/nutritional status and learners’ school achievements. A UNICEF study indicates Bhutan continues to be afflicted with a high incidence of protein energy malnutrition among its children. In this context, schools have a strategic role in promoting good health and nutrition, as well as overcoming “status” issues related to bringing home food to school (see Box 6). School-based health programmes can be a cost-effective way to improve the health of learners; in all, the issue must be viewed from the principle of equity, i.e., socially equitable distribution of learning outcomes. This, then, calls at least for ensuring provision of free school meals, including health and nutrition services, in all primary schools in the country.

Box 6. At least one hot meal a day

In a study on the Status of Access to Primary Education of the Girl Child (MoE, 2003), 63 percent of respondents – nearly 2 in 3 – said “children refused to take pack lunch to school.” Teachers have noted that children feel shy to bring food from home to school, and the Commission found in one of our visits that the perceived quality of food affects children’s “status” and makes them shy or proud. Said one 8-year-old girl attending a community school in Wangdue Phodrang dzongkhag: “We don’t get lunch in school, so we take pack lunch. I take red rice with a tshoemm and I eat with others who also bring red rice. The children who bring white rice eat together. They usually sit away from us because they are shy, and often they have no tshoem to eat with their rice.”

• Infrastructure facilities. The level of infrastructure facilities provided in school –buildings, classrooms, drinking water, toilets – also is associated with learner achievements and overall school quality. In Bhutan, a considerable amount of capital investment is being made in constructing new physical infrastructure. In the process, however, maintenance and/or refurbishing of old school buildings appears to have been rather neglected, resulting in a significant proportion of school infrastructure in a dilapidated state (see Box 7). This has garnered media attention, which has highlighted the negative impact of poorly maintained or refurbished schools on children’s health and learning. Clearly, a strong case exists for assigning equal attention to proper maintenance and refurbishing of school buildings and facilities.

• School location. The dzongkhag in which schools are located explains 6 to 23 percent of variation in attainment, according to the Learning Quality Survey. Again, these effects vary by subject, being lowest for Dzongkha and highest for English. Scores in English and Maths are higher in schools in villages with a bank, motor road or phone line, the Survey found.

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Box 7. Overcrowded and dangerous hostels

During the Commission’s visits to schools, it was noticed that many buildings were in states of disrepair. Often the hostel facilities were less than adequate. One head teacher of a boarding school told Commission members, “The girls’ hostel is crowded. There are three girls to a bed. It’s not so bad for the boys: They are much are better off, with only two to a bed.”

Likewise, media coverage of poor school infrastructure has been vivid. Bhutan Times wrote: “Every night the students of Lauri Community Primary School pray before bed to distract themselves from the fear that they may die the next day; their hostel might crumble down any time.”

Student Characteristics Factors

Among student characteristics, these factors strongly correlate with children’s achievements:

• Learner readiness. As noted in Chapter II, it is widely recognised that ECCE substantially enhances children’s school readiness, with the latter correlated to children’s achievements in primary education. Yet, as also discussed above, this has not been an area of importance in the Bhutanese education sector, as reflected in the modest budgetary support for early learning. Thus, a need exists to draw lessons from various studies suggesting that investment in ECCE is a costeffective way to improve education quality. In light of this, the following has been extracted from the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005.

A cross-country study in sub-Saharan Africa shows clear relationships between early childhood care and education programme coverage and repetition and survival rates, as well as children’s physical development. The study concludes that 87 percent of investment in the programme will be repaid in the form of increased efficiency in primary education. Other individual and social returns – such as better health, higher income and greater social cohesion – will most likely offset the remaining 13 percent, and possibly much more.

• Gender. The NEA findings for Class VI that “girls outperformed boys in literacy tests,” whereas “boys outperformed girls in numeracy tests,” do not explain why girls are doing better in literacy, and why boys are doing better in numeracy.

• Language. A need exists to address the question of how to best teach Dzongkha (much less English), particularly to those children whose first language is not Dzongkha. In the United States, for example, remedial learning programmes are offered for students whose first language in not English and/or those who are weak in this subject.

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CHAPTER VI: Secondary Education

In Bhutan the basic education level has been raised to Class X, even as the country’s Education Sector Strategy expects provisions to be made for “education and training opportunities to everyone up to a level equivalent to Class XII.” Moreover, secondary and tertiary education are part of both the EFA goals and the MDG targets. Thus, developing a good-quality secondary school system is an important education policy objective.

Looking at education beyond the primary level, this Commission considered lower, middle and higher secondary education as a whole under “secondary education.” Overall, the situation in secondary education in Bhutan is similar to that for primary education, but the challenges are much more pronounced.

Enrolment

In 2007 the student enrolment was 104,467 in primary level (PP-VI), 38, 911, in the lower and middle secondary level (VII – X) and 8, 816 in the Higher Secondary level (XI – XII)

Enrolment figures for 2007 speak for themselves, the country’s education pipeline is highly “leaky:” Of the total students enrolled in primary education, only 37 percent are in lower and middle secondary – and of the latter, only 22 percent proceed to higher secondary.

The above transitions rates contrast sharply with those prevailing in developed countries. North America and Western Europe have almost achieved universal secondary education, with GERs above 100 percent and average NERs exceeding 90 percent.

Given the sharp drop in enrolment from primary to lower/middle secondary and from the latter to higher secondary, it can be assumed that the country’s GER for secondary education (data not available) is very low – lower than the worldwide average GERs of 78 percent and 51 percent respectively for lower/middle and higher secondary education.

Retention and Repetition

With fewer students and relatively better inputs in terms of infrastructure and qualified teachers, one might expect that secondary schooling fares better than primary in dropout and repetition rates. Disappointingly, however, these rates are higher than at primary level for 2001/2002-2006/2007.

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Level Enrolment Total Average per year level Primary 104467 14923.86 Middle secondary 38911 9727.75 Higher secondary 8816 4408
Table 1. Student enrolment at different levels

Retention and repetition rates

• Average dropout rate per class per year for Classes VII-X 8

• Highest average dropout rate per year, found in Class VII 7.15% 5.55%

• Average repetition rate per class per year for Classes VII-X 6.7%

• Highest average repetition rate per year, found in Class VII 10.9%

Gender Disparity in Secondary Schools

Education statistics for 2007 indicate a slow but steady increase in girls’ enrolment at every level of general education. However, as in most developing counties, the higher the level of education, the greater gender disparities. As indicated earlier, gender parity exists at the primary level, but gender differences in participation show up at secondary level, as shown in Table 2. This can be attributed to low overall secondary enrolment, which tends to be at the expense of girls. Further, gender inequality persists as the strongest inverse correlate of school attendance and performance (UNESCO, 2003), with poor instruction also remaining a root cause. The state of school infrastructure, including the availability of separate girls’ toilets, has a further bearing on girls’ participation.

While no biases exist against girls’ enrolment in Bhutan, no policy framework specifically addresses factors strongly influencing gender patterns of secondary school participation and retention. The EFA Global Monitoring Report has identified these factors as puberty, pregnancy and early marriage, and “household and societal.”

Table 2: Girls’ Enrolment in Classes X and XI in Public Schools

Source: General Statistics 2006-2007, MoE

Academic Achievement

In the last five years, the pass percentage in Class X and XII Board Examinations has been more than 90 percent and 92 percent respectively. While this is a welcome outcome, a need exists to examine more closely the NEA findings on Class X and details of the results of Classes X and XII.

NEA of Class X English and Mathematics

8 Data for Class X not available.

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Year Proportion of girls (%) Class X Class XI 2003 45 33 2004 46 32 2005 47 33 2006 48 37 2007 48 41

The average test scores were 19.72 (out of 60) for English and 37.99 (out of 100) for Mathematics.

The above scores show that achievement levels at the end of lower and middle secondary education are disappointingly low. Moreover, these poor scores were secured by the academically “best of the best” among their school-age cohort. The scores in these core subjects further reflect overall “standards” of student achievements in Class X Board Examinations.

As with the NEA findings for Class VI with regard to maths scores, it can be assumed that the poor Class X scores also result in part from low educational qualifications and low motivation of teachers. Such scores also could arise from rote-learning teaching styles.

Results of BCSC for Class X and BHSEC for Class XII

The numbers of Class X and XII Board Examination failures between 2002 and 2006 were 1,805 and 1,305 respectively, revealing an unacceptable picture of educational outputs of middle and higher secondary schools. A study undertaken by this Commission of popular –but not necessarily outstanding – schools in Indian towns bordering Bhutan found that these schools consider a 100 percent pass percentage as the minimum achievement level for Class X and XII. What seems to matter most is the percentage of students scoring of 60 percent (1st Division) and above in their board examinations.

In 2006 a total of 3,737 students passed the Class XII Board Examination. Of these, only 35 percent, or 1,315, were selected for admission to various tertiary institutes in the country. Because the cut-off point is usually below 60 percent, it can be surmised that many of those selected had passed the Class XII exams with marks of less than 60 percent. However, if a mean score of 60 percent – still low – is taken as a satisfactory level of performance, than these students’ achievement levels are unsatisfactory. Concomitantly, progress toward formation of high-quality human resources in the country is progressing slowly.

Conclusion

1. As portrayed in earlier Chapters, most primary-school children are far below their required level of academic achievement. With many nonetheless graduating to secondary education, recouping their “learning deficit” has become a major challenge in secondary schools. For this reason, early intervention is crucial via good-quality early childhood care and education programmes and adequate provision of quality primary education.

2. It is clear that, as in the case of primary education, the most important challenge for secondary education is to improve educational outcomes of students – and what affects student outcomes most is the quality of teaching/learning in classrooms. This requires addressing the crux of school quality issue: how to attract the best-educated people into the teaching profession, leading to better student outcomes. To respond to this, a need exists to follow what high-performing countries like the Republic of Korea and Singapore do: recruit teachers from the best of their national graduates.

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Chapter VII: School Culture: An Overlooked Dimension for Improvement

Even a casual visit to a school will make one sense that it has a culture of its own. It is when it comes to explaining a school culture that one may fumble. However, thanks to David Fulton, 9 a stipulative definition of a school culture exists, which make it explaining it in a practical, short way:

School culture simply is what counts as normal at a school. There is more to this definition than first meets the eye. When something counts as normal, it means that it is sanctioned, officially or unofficially, by the institution. It is something – a practice, a value, a point of view – that is so embedded in an organisation that its presence is barely noticed or seen as out of the ordinary. It is the set of practices that a new member to the school will likely conform to after six months on the job. They may enter with a different set of beliefs or practices (perhaps fresh from teacher training), but they will be overpowered by the culture.

Studies have established the centrality of school culture to school improvement. Indeed, there is no dearth of examples of “intentional school culture,” or school culture that has been harnessed for building excellence in academics and character. Despite this, many schools pay no heed to their culture, let alone shape it to achieve growth of academics and character. A school culture tends to haphazardly unfold, sometime in responses to external pressure, principal personality and/or school rituals. Under the circumstances, the real danger is that the culture could deteriorate to a point that it could derail even the best-planned academic reforms.

Therefore, this Commission undertook to gauge the state of school culture in Bhutan, visiting more than 25 schools in 13 dzongkhags, surveying more than 800 students and 150 teachers, and interviewing scores of students, teachers and parents.

Alarmingly, the most important survey findings concern a classroom culture that has a direct correlation with teaching and learning – to the detriment of learners’ academic achievements. The dominant feature of this culture is “ a culture of passivity”, in which students are simply recipients of knowledge. What difference will it make to develop a classroom culture around student engagement? First and foremost, students will learn more. Students (and adults) simply do not learn well in an atmosphere of fear and stress. The author of a recent Educational Leadership article, a neuro-scientist, makes this point: In a stressful classroom environment, “information flow to the higher cognitive networks is limited, and the learning process grinds to a halt.” (Willis, 2007).

Based on the above, the following recommendations can have a positive impact on teaching, learning and the lives of children:

• Shift from a culture of fear to a culture of engagement in classrooms

• Create a culture of reading in schools

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9 Dr. David Fulton, Office of Character and School Culture, Denver Public Schools, USA

• Strengthen both teacher in-service training and access to best practices throughout the country

By no means have these findings covered all dimensions of school culture that have a bearing on school characteristics. But at this stage, it is important to focus on those aspects of immediate relevance to the core business of school: teaching and learning. Moreover, these recommendations are largely able to be implemented relatively quickly, and with no budgetary implications. Equally important, by highlighting aspects directly relevant to the basic functioning of a school, it is possible to stimulate greater overall attention to school culture.

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Chapter VIII: Tertiary Education

In reviewing the status of tertiary education in the country, this Commission limited its studies to a) Sherubtse College as a Social Institution and b) Quality Assurance of Higher Education in Bhutan. Clearly, however, many other critical issues concerning higher education exist beyond those covered by the two studies. It is expected that these additional issues will be covered under a study under way by the Ministry of Education toward formulation of a comprehensive policy for tertiary education in Bhutan.

Study on Sherubtse College as a Social Institution

Sherubtse College is the oldest college in the country, and the premier institution of higher learning. As such, it is the subject of much public debate. According to the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005, the quality of learning depends on student behaviour more than on anything else, in that student behaviour responds directly to the socialisation process. Yet apparently no attempt has been made to understanding how Sherubtse students and faculty interacting, not only as learners and teachers but as persons in the social context of the college. Higher education is not only a set of outcomes; it is also a process. Given the amount of time spent at college, the behaviour of students and faculty alike is bound to be determined by the quality of this process. The latter also affects the way students and faculty experience life and work at the college.

In undertaking the study, this Commission visited Sherubtse and both surveyed and extensively interviewed students and faculty members. Further, the Commission also had conversations on various issues concerning Sherubtse with two former Directors of the College. However, the study is not sociological research on the college; rather, it is an effort to direct attention to the social process that significantly affects student life, including their character and academic achievements. Major survey findings include:

• Sherubtse College, the pinnacle of learning in Bhutan, appears at risk of sliding into becoming a mediocre institution

• In general, students do not seem fully engaged in learning. When asked whether the students are “actively engaged and excited to learn,” the average staff response was 2.91 out of 5 points. Student effort appears to vary by course of study – science students seem to work hardest – and several students we spoke with said that faculty expectations are fairly low.

• Accountability for lecturers and students appears weak. For example, both students and staff told us of several lecturers who simply do not show up for class, with apparently little if any consequence.

• Many buildings and classrooms are in disrepair.

• Departments exhibit uneven performance; some appear to be thriving, while others are struggling.

• The college seems to have struggled for the last decade with many changes in leadership, which has affected the overall culture of the institute. A need exists for strong and stable leadership.

• Faculty trust and professional morale are both relatively low. The average score was 2.88 (out of 5) when asked if the staff trusts one another and 2.79 when asked if there are opportunities to grow professionally at Sherubtse. In addition, there does not

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appear to be a culture of celebration or recognition of strong staff performance. The survey revealed an average score of 2.68 when staff were asked if they have a voice in decision making, and 2.73 when asked if there exists collaborative spirit among staff.

• The area around the college is commercially undeveloped and does not feel like a “college town.” (This may be because students simply do not have the discretionary funds to support coffee shops, restaurants and bookstores.)

• Many students and faculty noted that the library and information system need improvement and complained about limited access to the Internet. (This should be remedied, at least in part, when the new technology building is completed.)

Obviously, it is not possible to improve all aspects of a social process overnight; a long-term view is needed. Nevertheless, a start must be made somewhere, and it is wise to start small –with a small victory at a time. This is where the Commission’s recommendations come in:

• Strengthen accountability for weak performance. Lecturers who fail to show up for class should be disciplined. In addition, departments with continued weak performance should be both held accountable and required to find measurable ways to improve instruction and student performance.

• Students should be held more accountable. (For that academic performance. This aspect has been addressed to with the introduction of the RUB curriculum from 2007)

• Attend to the maintenance of classrooms and of the campus as a whole.

Quality Assurance of Higher Education in Bhutan

Since its establishment in 2003, the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) has been mandated to cover “all education of Level 5 and above” (ISCED, 1997) in the country. Consequently, virtually all educational programmes deemed tertiary have been accredited and qualifications recognised by RUB. In the process, however, issues of quality assurance have not been given the attention they warrant. In this context, the Commission developed a case study on “Quality Assurance of Higher Education in Bhutan,” combining desktop research and data generated through a survey of tertiary education providers, graduates and key stakeholders. The idea was to create greater awareness regarding the challenges posed by quality assurance issues, along with higher recognition of qualifications from the perspective of key stakeholders, including students. We hope that this study can serve as a modest input to the ongoing formulation of the country’s policy on higher education. Key findings of the study include:

• Management of tertiary education is new to Bhutan. Before the establishment of RUB barely five years ago, almost all tertiary education institutions had arrangements to offer their own awards, with few institutions working closely with external partners. Following the establishment of RUB, a common academic framework for all tertiary education programmes was established for quality assurance. However, the effectiveness of such a framework is yet to be assessed since it is at an early stage of implementation.

• Based on assessment of the present situation and aggregated feedback by education providers, clients and stakeholders, quality assurance of tertiary education in Bhutan is constrained mainly by:

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1. The missions of almost all tertiary education institutions are not well aligned with the long-term human resource development needs of the country, including that of corporate sector.

2. Tertiary education institutions suffer from acute shortages of qualified teaching staff. Learning resources and infrastructure facilities are other challenges.

3. There are no established and agreed performance indicators to judge the performance of tertiary education institutions. In the absence of these, performance is ranked using different indicators.

• With an increasing number of Bhutanese students pursuing higher education outside the country, a matter of particular concern arises from the importance of protecting students from low-quality or disreputable providers of higher education outside the country.

• Most stakeholders are concerned that no agreed national framework exists on quality assurance, enforceable across all educational, professional and vocational institutions. Under such circumstances, most stakeholders indicated they want quality assurance –including accreditation of educational, professional and vocational programmes –made the responsibility of an independent council, as commonly practiced in many other countries.

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CHAPTER IX: Impact of the Education System on Human Resources Development

Examination of the level and quality of education of the labour force at the end of the Tenth Plan (2013) offers a revealing assessment of the impact of current trends in the education system on human resources development.

Level of

According to the Bhutan National Human Resource Development Report 2007 (BNHRD Report 2007), the level of education of the labour force in 2013 is estimated as follows.

Quality of Academic Skills and Knowledge

The following assessments of the quality of education of the labour force in 2013 should be viewed as indicative, rather than specific.

Category I. LSS (Lower Secondary School)

The most pertinent question for this category of labour force relates to literacy level. Do workers in this category meet the UNESCO definition of literary, i.e., “the ability to read and write, with understanding, a short simple sentence about one’s everyday life”? In this regard, it must be recognised that the level of literacy is the foundation for acquiring skills that will bring higher individual economic benefits and enable these workers to contribute toward productivity of the nation’s economy.

However, based on results of the Learning Quality Survey, even among those in this group that have reached/completed the terminal grade of primary education (Class VI), their literacy level can only be assumed to be comparable to that required for Class IV.

Clearly, the bulk of the future labour force – 53 percent – is at the bottom of educational pyramid, with the immediate fallout of low skills levels among the working population.

Category II: LSS/MSS (Lower Secondary/Middle Secondary School)

Even assuming that this category of labour force would have completed middle secondary school at best (Class X passed), NEA findings indicate that their average scores in core subjects like English and Maths would be below 50 percent. This means, first, that they will

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Education
Category Number Category I: Below LSS 1,51,210 Category II: LSS/MSS 74,235 Category III: Certificates/Diploma 22,059 Category IV: HSS 16,827 Category V: University graduatesa 18,084 Category VI: Professionalsb 5,618 aHumanities/Science/Commerce/IT; bMasters/MBBS/BE)

need to upgrade their literacy and numeracy skills, and second, they will need to complete occupational/professional training that would prepare them to be considered against the shortages of skilled manpower in the country.

According to the BNHRD Report 2007, supply of this category of labour force is “likely to be in excess over the Tenth Plan.” On the other hand, as noted earlier, there also exists an issue “un-employability” in this category of labour force.

Category III: Certificates/Diploma

Data are not available to assess the quality of learning achievements for this category of labour force. However, the following observations from the BNHRD Report 2007 may give some indications regarding their level as well as quality of education:

• Quality of training is poor. As a result, many certificate holders are not employable.

• Certificate holders are highly mobile and move very frequently from one job to another.

• Salary and job expectations among this group are much higher than for foreign workers with similar qualifications.

Category IV: HSS (Higher Secondary School)

In all probability, this category of labour force may not have qualified for tertiary education because of low academic achievements in Class XII examinations. Therefore, persons in this category may lack the required reading, writing and maths skills needed to learn technical skills that would make them readily employable in a rapidly changing economy.

Category V: University Graduate

Because no agreed framework exists for quality assurance in Bhutanese higher education, and because required data are not readily available, it was necessary to examine the academic quality of this category of workforce via proxy indicators. For this purpose, and keeping in view the fact that substantial numbers of Bhutanese undertake higher studies in India, national graduates’ academic skills and knowledge are considered at par with that of Indian graduates. It should be noted that the Indian National Assessment and Accreditation Council, which sets quality parameters of higher education in India, has not accredited 75 percent of all colleges and 56 percent of universities in that country. Reflecting the state of quality of Indian graduates’ academic skills, un-employability of graduates, rather than employment per se, has emerged as one of India’s major human resources issues. As a corollary, it can be concluded that in general the quality of academic skills of Bhutanese graduates also is not very high.

Broadly, national graduates now engage in jobs that mostly involve routine work – but a real possibility exists that major components of such jobs may soon be automated with the rapid advance of new technologies. Hence, the prospect of graduates’ unemployability may also emerge as a human resources issue in the country.

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Category VI: Professionals

While use of the Indian situation may not be fully in order for this category, looking into the situation there may give at least some basis to assess the quality of Bhutanese professionals. Currently, the following percentages of Indian professionals are considered employable in international terms: 25 percent of engineering graduates; 15 percent of finance and accounts professionals, and 10 percent with any kind of professional degrees. In the above context, the percentage of high-quality Bhutanese professionals would be limited. Nevertheless, India has gained a competitive edge in the global market because of the sheer overall numbers of highquality Indian professionals. Bhutan, of course, has no such advantage.

Conclusion

1. It can be concluded that the foundational skills and knowledge of the future workforce are going to be disappointingly low. It is also clear that their skills and knowledge deficiencies cannot be “repaired” simply by providing vocational and technical training, which are generally set to minimum standards and intended mainly for getting unemployed youth a job as soon as possible. In fact, these youth will need a foundation level of literacy much deeper and broader than what was required in the past, ideally, at a minimum needed to do college-level work. It is important to realize that even for agriculture activities higher levels of education is required as demonstrated by the example from Switzerland (Box 8):

Source: UFA Review 3.2007

2. In ensuring that the country’s adult workers will acquire the foundational skills and knowledge required to meet the future economy’s challenges, the following two-pronged approach should be considered:

• First, the current pilot Continuing Education Programme needs to be rapidly expanded in terms of scope and coverage. Specifically, the programme needs to directed toward enabling a much larger proportion of the adult population to achieve much higher education standards.

• Second, the curricula design and system of assessment of the existing training infrastructure need to be upgraded to meet the demands of the future economy, and coverage should be expanded to working adults. This means the national occupational skills standards and curricula should be designed in modular form so that people can accumulate modules as needed to achieve professional goals or adjust to changes in patterns of job availability. At the same time, a financial aid

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Box 8 Level of education of farmers in Switzerland Percentage of Swiss farmers Compulsory school (Class IX) 100 Vocational training (diploma level, minimum 2 years) 93 Additional training (B.Sc., MS level) 33

system needs to be in place to help workers take advantage of these modular programmes.

• Initiating the proposed two-pronged approach will require an investment of millions of ngultrums. One solution, however, could be to “piggyback” on educational and training services designed to meet the needs of the adult Indian population. For example, arrangements could be worked out to provide Indian open school and university courses in Bhutan. A similar tie-up could be made, for example, with NIIT to conduct courses modelled after its District Learning Centre, which is geared toward fostering IT talent and skilled manpower resources for global readiness.

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CHAPTER X: Transforming the Education System

Premise

The overwhelming conclusion from the earlier analysis of the system is that a radical approach is indispensable to achieve a quantum improvement in educational outputs.

Recommendations

Based on the above premise, this Commission’s recommendations are outlined below, bearing in mind the following:

1. The concepts contained in the recommendations have been drawn from the reports and best practices of countries with the best education systems.

2. The recommendations are not intended as prescriptive; rather, the aim is to stimulate many variations of the concepts, given that choices exist regarding a path to be followed. This acknowledges the centrality of the Ministry of Education in initiating the reform process. As mandated, this Commission has seen its role in creating the context for debate on the quality of education in the country.

Core Principles

We considered the following core principles as forming the foundation of our recommendations:

• Providing world-class education. In practice, this means adopting internationally benchmarked standards for educating Bhutanese students. As a corollary, the international recognition of their qualifications will mean that these standards are valued worldwide.

• Ensuring equity and equality in education. The Government is committed to equality in education services, which has translated into making equal education facilities available in all areas. But because household socioeconomic circumstances affect the capacity to benefit from education services, equality of provision does not necessarily ensure all children and young people the same opportunities to realise their potential. In this sense, equality of education is far broader than the principle of equality of provision, calling for achieving a high and socially equitable distribution of learning outcomes. Given the current population trends in the country, the workforce will experience no net growth in the near future. Thus, simply to sustain the economy – to say nothing of meeting future challenges – every working person in the next generation must be much more productive than this generation, and the children more productive than their parents. The implications are very clear: The country must have both equity and equality in education.

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Strategies

Seven strategies expounding the two core principles are aimed at building a sound framework to educate Bhutanese students to world-class levels. These strategies are not proposed as a collection of initiatives, but rather, as a system with its own integrity, which can be implemented in many ways. The seven strategies are:

Strategy 1 – Adopt internationally benchmarked standards for educating Bhutanese students and establish minimum achievement levels against that standard.

Strategy 2 – Improve teacher quality by transforming the system of their compensation and restructuring teacher recruitment and education.

Strategy 3 – Provide high-quality, universal early childhood education.

Strategy 4 – Achieve Universal Primary Education.

Strategy 5 – Create high-performance schools in terms of school governance, organisation and management.

Strategy 6 – Support the students who need it most.

Strategy 7 – Ensure quality assurance of higher education.

STRATEGY 1:

Adopt Internationally Benchmarked Standards for Educating Bhutanese Students and Establish Minimum Achievement Levels Against That Standard

Adopting International Standards

Specifically, adopting international standards entails:

• Setting standards of the board examinations – namely, BCSC for Class X and BHSEC for Class XII – in line with expectations incorporated in the examinations administered by the best-performing nations in the world, such as Singapore and Finland.

• Overhauling the school curriculum, including the current system of assessing students’ achievements to best fit the expectations mentioned above.

• Assessing Bhutanese students’ performance in an international comparison of student achievements. This can provide an indication of the magnitude of challenges the country needs to address to match the best students’ performance globally. For example, on the basis of such an assessment it was established that less than 1 percent of African and Middle Eastern children perform at or above the Singaporean average (McKinsey & Company, September 2007). The international assessment of students’ performance also can be carried out in affiliation or collaboration with international associations set up for this purpose; for example, the OECD Programme for Student

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Assessment (PISA) measures cognitive achievement at various levels of education in several countries and identifies the main causes of differences in outcomes.

Timeframe for Adopting International Standards

Under the Education Strategy formulated by the MoE, a timeframe for achieving “international standards” is foreseen as follows: a) By 2010, student competencies equivalent to the average level by international standards; b) By 2020, student competencies equivalent to the excellence level by international standards. Basing itself on this, we assume the timeframe as follows:

• A five-year preparatory phase (2008-2013) is required for such activities as revising the curriculum; developing a new examination assessment and administration system; redesigning textbooks; improving class transactions; and orienting teachers. It also will be necessary to conceptualise and initiate the implementation of the strategies to create a base to educate Bhutanese students at international standards. Overhauling the school curriculum, as noted earlier, should including the current system of student assessment toward achieving the expectations.

• The first child to enter Class I under the adopted standards would do so beginning in 2014. At the earliest, that student would appear for the internationally set BCSE for Class X in 2023 and for the BHSEC for Class XII in 2025. In the meanwhile, a new system

emerging from the changes recommended in this report – could vastly improve and reinforce all factors affecting students’ achievement, producing higher educational outputs.

Establishing Students’ Achievement Levels

In establishing students’ achievement levels, among others, the following current status of students’ achievement levels was taken into consideration:

• Overall, the rate of learning per year of children in primary education is low; it takes one more year to reach the average competency for that grade. Equally alarming, Class VI children demonstrate strikingly low achievements in mathematics.

• While more than 90 percent of students passed in Classes X and XII during the last five years (2001/2002-2006/2007), the percentage of students securing marks of 60 percent and above – which is taken as a satisfactory level of performance – is very low. This means many students are passing Classes X and XII without mastering the curriculum for these grades; in other words, students are not educated to a higher secondary-ready standard by the end of Class X, and likewise are not educated to a college-ready standard by the end of Class XII. As a result, many seem to avoid applying themselves at the college level, whereas in other countries students strive for the most challenging courses – because they understand that this is the only way they can achieve their aims.

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In the above context, it is deemed necessary to establish students’ achievement levels at the primary and secondary:

Primary Education

We drew from the concept incorporated in the Minimum Levels of Learning (MLL) model in India for benchmarking learning achievements for Bhutanese primary education. This model could improve the quality of primary education and achieve a comparable standard of education throughout Bhutan. As such, MLL can be used as a guideline for classroom teaching as well as for evaluation of learner achievement. It can serve as a standard against which the progress of a child could be assessed in terms of essential learning outcomes. Having said this, the Commission recognises that Bhutan’s benchmark for learning achievements for primary education needs to reflect its own standards that enshrine today’s needs and tomorrow’s requirements for the country. MLL is conceptualised as a threedimensional model encompassing the key aspects of competency, mastery and equity:

1. MLL defines learning outcomes as a set of identified competencies essential for all children to acquire at each stage of primary education in the areas of maths, language and environmental studies. With this, conventional syllabus-based teaching gave way to one emphasising learning by all children.

2. It postulates that these competencies and skills must be acquired at a level of mastery to be sustainable. The programme goals specify that mastery can be attained when a child acquires 80 percent of the specified competencies and 80 percent of children achieve this at the specified level.

3. The element of equity implies that all children, irrespective of economic or social background, shall be able to learn up to this defined level, and that the curriculum and teaching/learning materials shall be designed so as to promote this.

Secondary Education

To establish student achievement levels at secondary level, the following are proposed:

1. Incorporation of international standards in the BCSE and BHSEC. These two board examinations thus would measure the extent to which students have mastered the “overhauled curriculum” recommended above.

2. The new BCSE would be considered as the first qualifying examination – that is, a student would be able to take it whenever he or she is ready and would be able to move on in the system as soon as s/he had passed. Unlike the old system, students could take the tests repeatedly: In a sense, no one would need to fail this examination.

3. The new BCSE therefore would set the qualifying standards that confirm a student’s mastery of the curriculum. In other words, the student would not be allowed to enter higher secondary education without meeting the standards set by this examination.

4. Introduction of a new streaming system at the higher secondary level in order to create two programmes, namely, Upper Secondary Academic Programme and Technical

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Preparation Programme. The new streaming system is based on the following considerations:

• Variation exists in the learning and absorption capacities of students, and the new system will provide an opportunity for students to develop at their own pace.

• The system is intended to allow a student every opportunity to go as far as s/he can. This can be ensured through a provision for a lateral transfer of students from one programme to another. It also will cater to both late developers as well as those who need to study at a slower pace.

5. Creation of two possible destinations for students. Students will get scaled scores of the new BCSE, but these represent passing scores for two possible destinations. No one can go on to those destinations unless they achieve the appropriate score:

• The first passing scores are set to the level for enrolment in the Upper Secondary Academic Programme, intended to provide a demanding college preparation course.

• The second passing score is set to the level of enrolment in the Technical Preparation Programme, which among others will allow students to sample a range of technical and occupational programmes to explore potential fields of employment. Consequently, some students may exercise options to enrol in occupational programmes.

6. The new BHSEC would be another qualifying examination. Upon completion of the Academic Programme, students could take the new BHSEC to be eligible to enrol in tertiary education.

7. Upon completion of Technical/Vocational Programme, meanwhile, students could take Technical Entrance Examinations; if they meet pre-specified entrance standards, they would be eligible to pursue higher technical courses. Students of the Vocational Programme also could choose to join the full-time workforce.

8. An alternate route also would exist for taking the new BHSEC. A student from the Technical Programme could take the new BHSEC if s/he could secure high scores in the Entrance Examination and take the necessary prerequisite course. This is intended to enable every student who wants to attend college to be sent and, at the same time, to make sure that every student has the skills to succeed in college once there.

9. Students who choose the new BHSEC route could always detour back to higher technical/ vocational programmes to pick up technical certificates, even after joining the full-time work force.

10. Facilitating students achieving the required levels may entail the following:

• Supporting students who need it the most (Strategy 6)

• Improving the quality of schooling (Strategy 5)

• Launching campaigns to raise the academic aspirations of youth toward exceeding the current best student performance in the world.

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SCHEMA FOR STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT LEVELS

NEW BHSEC (2ND QUALIFYING EXAMINATION)

UPPER SECONDARY ACADEMIC PROGRAMME

TECHNICAL/ VOCATIONAL EXAMINATION

TECHNICAL / VOCATIONAL PROGRAMME

NEW BCSE (1ST QUALIFYING EXAMINATION)

COMMON LOWER AND MIDDLE SECONDARY

PRIMARY (LEARNING ACHIEVEMENTS BASED ON MILL)

PRE-PRIMARY

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Improve Teacher Quality by Transforming the System of Compensation and Restructuring Teacher Recruitment and Education

Teachers are the heart of the education system, so it should surprise no one that a 2006-2007 study of 25 school systems – including 10 of the top global performers – by McKinsey & Company found that “the main driver of the variation in student learning at school is the quality of teachers.” As quoted in the study, a policymaker in the Republic of Korea noted: “The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.”

It also must be remembered that the World Bank Quality Survey in Bhutan found that teacher quality can explain 26 percent to 45 percent of variations in test scores in Classes II and IV. Thus, it can be concluded that much of Bhutanese students’ low academic output in primary education, which reverberates through secondary education as well, can be attributed to lowperforming teachers. Alarmingly, however, the students’ education loss is largely irreversible – so the challenge to Bhutanese society now is how to improve teachers’ performance. Moreover, how can we get the best and brightest to become teachers? The answers are twofold: a) transform teachers’ compensation and b) restructure teachers’ recruitment and teachers’ education.

Transforming the Teacher Compensation System

Recently the Royal Government has considered granting a special allowance for teachers in addition to their salaries. There is, however, no expectation that this additional allowance will make a difference in teacher productivity as measured against student outputs. This dichotomy stems from an apparent lack of linkages between teachers’ compensation and their performance. Thus, transforming teachers’ compensation may require:

1. Linking teachers’ salary increments – in particular, advances in position level – with their effectiveness as measured against students’ achievements in tests. This means moving away from the compensation system based on years of service.

2. Granting compensatory allowances, including better working conditions or housing facilities, for senior and experienced teachers willing to teach in remote areas of the country.

3. Granting extra financial compensation or improved working conditions for teachers willing to teach in schools in which a dzongkhag has recruiting problems, or in subject areas where there are shortages (mathematics, science). This fits with the idea of making teachers’ compensation performance-based.

4. Enabling outstanding teachers to be promoted, earn more and take on increased responsibilities as their reputation grows. Such teachers rising up the career ladder could mentor new teachers, demonstrate teaching methods, coach experienced teachers and lead school-based instruction teams.

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Restructuring Teacher Recruitment and Education

Students’ academic achievement cannot be significantly improved unless their teachers have appropriate knowledge and skills. Therefore, it is urgent to initiate a complete restructuring of teacher recruitment and education. In this context, creation of an Agency for Teacher Development (ATD) is proposed:

1. The ATD would be an agency affiliated to the MoE, vested with a mission to recruit and retain the best and brightest as teachers for schools throughout the country. As such, it would be mandated to pursue its mission like a Government-owned corporation, functioning under its own governance structure that would includes its own service rules and financial autonomy.

2. All teachers would be de-linked from the civil service and come under the ATD’s administrative control. This, among others, would allow the Agency to implement the new compensation system. In this context, it would draft and execute teacher performance standards and resulting measures of accountability.

3. The ATD would benchmark the best practices of countries such as Canada and Cuba, where the teaching profession is held in high esteem, to initiate measures to attract the best of Bhutanese youth to teaching. This may include conducting sophisticated media campaigns and undertaking research to find out why talented young people are not going into teaching – and what it would take to change their minds. The resulting information would be available to education policymakers to make the profession more appealing.

4. The ATD would aggressively recruit teachers, which could entail the following:

• Going outside traditional sources of recruitment, it would look for candidates from the civil service, army and the ranks of teachers who had left the profession but would consider coming back in light of changes in teacher compensation.

• Offering salaries at levels comparable to better-paid professionals in the country, in order to attract the best of candidates. This category of candidates would have to show at least a bachelor’s degree in the proposed subject and to pass a rigorous performance assessment.

• Making no distinction between national and expatriate candidates, under a motto of “teachers are teachers.” The ATD would recognise that the current practice of recruiting expatriate teachers on a short-term basis is not working well and would reinstate the former practice of recruiting expatriate teachers as “permanent employees.”

• Developing teachers into effective instructors. Thus, the ATD would write performance contracts with the two Colleges of Education and/or with teacher training colleges outside the country for training of teacher trainees as per established guidelines. It could cancel or decide not to renew contracts with a college should the college’s candidates not meet the performance criteria.

• Developing systems for assessing beginning teachers against performance criteria, based on visits to the classroom as well as carefully constructed assessments in an ATD assessment centre. The Agency also would test teachers every five years, and those who fail could lose their jobs.

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Provide High-Quality, Universal Early Childhood Education

Study after study has shown that high-quality early childhood education can make a very large difference in students’ ability to succeed in primary school, where the basis for all later success is laid. Currently, however, only 215 Bhutanese children have access to such education, as noted above. Thus, virtually all Bhutanese children are denied that crucial assist at the starting gate – and they never catch up. It therefore should come as no surprise that children’s educational outcomes in primary education are disappointingly low.

In this situation, the question of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children accessing early learning services does not arise. This is unfortunate, since children from the poorest backgrounds can benefit the most from such services. Studies in India’s Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh states show the impact of early childhood education by pointing out that even an undernourished child enrolled in an early childhood programme attains higher learning achievements than a well-nourished child outside the programme.11

Fortunately, an understanding is developing in Bhutan that early childhood education does matter, and that the country is missing opportunities to improve the quality of education

and, in the process, the prospects of Bhutanese children and youth – by neglecting it. In this context, the following were reviewed:

• State of National Policy on Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)

• Priority policy issues concerning Early Childhood Education

• Goal of Early Childhood Education

• Understanding quality dimensions of Early Childhood Education

• Expansion of the coverage of quality Early Childhood Education

• Reconfiguration of the Non-Formal Education (NFE)

State of National Policy on Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)

The Royal Government intends to develop a formal policy on ECCD, which represents a step in the right direction to provide a framework for ensuring that all children up to age 6 years receive adequate care and nurturing for their holistic development. However, pending the formulation of this national policy, children cannot be deprived of ECCD-related services. Thus, policy or operational decisions on ECCD should not be deferred.

Priority Policy Issues Concerning Early Childhood Education

The following priority issues warrant attention:

1. As noted in Chapter III, differences must be recognised between a Home Care Programme (for children up to age 2 years) and an Early Childhood Education Programme (for 3- to 6-year-olds). This Commission found the best fit for the Home Care Programme to be within the mandate of the National Commission for Women and Children (NCWC).

2. To underscore the distinction between pre-primary ECCE (ISCED Level 0) and PP under the country’s General Education Curriculum, this Commission suggests:

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STRATEGY 3:

• De-linking PP from primary education. In other words, primary education would cover only Classes I to VI. In practice, this would entail keeping all children aged 3 to 6 years out of the formal education sphere.

• Recognising pre-primary ECCE (ISCED Level 0) for catering to both care and educational needs of children aged 3 to 6 years.

3. While the participation in a new Early Childhood Education programme could be voluntary for 3- to 4-year-olds, it should be mandatory for 5- to 6- year-olds in order to later enrol in Class I, the beginning of formal education.

4. The importance of reaching out to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children needs to be recognised. Ideally, these children need to be covered under the Early Childhood Education programme for the entire four-year period. Research has shown that children from the poorest backgrounds benefit the most from what the programme provides in terms of care, health and education.

5. Establishing a framework for an Early Childhood Education curriculum will need to be undertaken. In this regard, we examined such a framework formulated in Singapore, which incorporates best practices and well-accepted tenets in an early-years setting, and which transcends cultural contexts. Therefore, we suggest that Bhutan consider adopting the Singapore curriculum framework for Early Childhood Education for the country.

6. Generally, staff dealing with 3- to 6-year-olds require qualifications similar to that of primary school teachers. In most of Western Europe and Japan, staff need university qualifications, while in the United States a lower qualification is sufficient. No qualification criteria for Early Childhood Education staff currently exist in Bhutan; it is urgent to look into this issue. With regard to staff training, a practice adopted by many developing countries could be considered; this includes a short (2-3 months) pre-service training, followed by an intensive in-service training under the supervision of an early child care specialist/professional.

Goal of Early Childhood Education

Generally, the objectives of Early Childhood Education are to cater to children’s need to grow and develop in the immediate years before primary schooling, and to help prepare them for school and set them on a journey of lifelong learning. However, preparing children for school should not be confused with trying to accelerate learning in the early years by providing a simplified primary school curriculum. In this context, it is necessary to clearly understand these five dimension of children’s school readiness:

• Physical well-being and motor development

• Social and emotional development

• Approaches to learning

• Language development

• Cognition and general knowledge

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Understanding Quality Dimensions of Early Childhood Education

The quality of an Early Childhood Education programme can be assessed on the basis of the following three dimensions:

1. Structural – Group size; staffing ratios; teacher and administrator education; training and experience; and physical environment

2. Process – Developmentally appropriate activities; nature of teacher-child interactions; teachers’ attitudes toward students; health and safety aspects of the environment; and layout and appropriateness of furnishings, equipment and curricular materials

3. Child outcomes – Child’s social and emotional developmental competence; selfperceived competence; behaviour; physical health; increased vocabulary; maths skills, including number concepts; simple addition and subtraction; telling time; and knowledge of letters, letter-sound associations and familiarity with words and book concepts.

Expanding the Coverage of Quality Early Childhood Education

Expanding the coverage of quality Early Childhood Education this entails increasing the number of services so that all 3- to 6-year-old Bhutanese can enrol in the programme. It does not necessarily, however, mean establishing more of the kind of early learning centres already available in Thimphu. In fact, many developing countries are providing Early Childhood Education through community-based Early Childhood Development Programmes. A community-based programme aims to ensure protection, good health and nutrition, supportive and affectionate interaction, and stimulation and opportunities for learning among children – in part through direct attention to children, and in part by influencing the contexts of their everyday lives. Central to this is support for parents’ efforts.

The infrastructure required to support quality Early Childhood Education includes:

1. Establishing and monitoring standards for children’s learning and for programme quality

2. Providing enriched professional development and related recognition and compensation for competence

3. Establishing governance systems to promote efficient use of human and fiscal resources

4. Establishing viable linkages with schools and other institutions that promote children’s healthy development

5. Providing parents and policymakers with evaluative, informative data to enable them to make effective decisions for their children and the Government, respectively

Reconfiguration of Non-Formal Education (NFE)

Researchers have long known that educated mothers are more likely to send their children to school and to have healthier and better educated children. UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children Report 2007 also highlights the correlation between educated mothers and their children. This would seem to be a powerful argument in favour of increasing the coverage and quality of NFE programmes in Bhutan, and targeting efforts particularly toward young mothers. NFE in the country could be reconfigured in the context of the educational needs of

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mothers and children from the poorest backgrounds, while maintaining its mission of promoting the national language. This newly configured NFE could be modeled after the government-funded Head Start Programme in the United States, which is administered and managed mainly by volunteers. This programme is designed to help at-risk families by enhancing their literacy and social skills as well as by facilitating their access to needed services. The programme specifically addresses the needs of families where English is not spoken in the home, through the provision of English-language lessons for parents and remedial English courses for children.

STRATEGY 4:

Achieving Universal Primary Education

The Royal Government stands committed to achieving Universal Primary Education (UPE) by 2015. Universalisation comprises four components:

• Universal access

• Universal enrolment

• Universal retention

• Universal quality of education

Based on the earlier analysis of these four components in this report, significant efforts will have to be made to achieve UPE by 2015. Such efforts therefore need to be targeted toward the following:

Out-of-School Children

Using the data of the Situation Analysis of Children and Women (2006) and other relevant reports, specific action needs to be initiated toward:

1. Identifying those children who are out-of-school and understanding their background characteristics

2. Based on (1), coming up with a programme specifically designed to attract and retain these children in school

3. Dovetailing this programme into the Tenth Plan as an instrument for poverty reduction, given that education is the primary vehicle for children to strive toward economic and social upliftment

Creating a Comprehensive Database

Rather than focusing on inputs per se, the measurement of progress toward UPE needs to be on the basis of outputs – that is, the real educational outcomes. This entails creating a comprehensive database on primary education covering all primary schools in the country. Such a database could be used for:

• “Child tracking” for analysing dropout, retention, survival and completion rates

• Producing “school report cards”

• Identifying future priorities and target setting toward improving primary education

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Socioeconomic Status of the Family

One of the biggest challenges in pursuing UPE is the socioeconomic status of the family. Practical measures to address this challenge could include:

1. Doing away with requirements for school uniforms as well as payment of fees and other contributions in all primary schools.

2. Ensuring every child has free access to textbooks and school stationery items

3. Providing comprehensive health and nutrition services to all primary schools, since school-based health programmes can be a cost-effective way to improve learners’ health. A need exists to reformulate the School Feeding Programme such that every primary school is covered by the end of the Tenth Plan.

School Culture

As proposed earlier, due attention must be given to school culture, which has a bearing on teaching, learning and assessment – the core business of a school.

Infrastructure Facilities

A substantial proportion of infrastructure in primary schools appears dilapidated. This adds to other factors that negatively correlate with children’s learning achievements. Initiating rehabilitation of basic facilities such as drinking water, toilets, classroom furniture and teaching/learning resources is particularly urgent. This will at least remove one negative factor.

Improving Learning Gains in Primary Education

A major hurdle in achieving UPE is the poor quality of education at primary level, as seen in the low rate of learning; that is, it takes an average student in a particular grade an extra year to reach the average competency for that grade. In this context, we propose to reactivate the former National Students’ Service (NSS) to run a remedial education programme in primary schools that will teach children who are lagging in their studies. Unlike in the past, the reactivated NSS would mobilise national volunteers from carefully selected top recent college graduates, with a mission to achieve UPE by 2015. This is based on recognition that the medium of volunteerism can best facilitate the generation of empathy toward communities. The proposed programme’s key features are:

1. The aim is to fast-track progress toward achieving UPE by 2015 through the provision of high-quality remedial interventions that increase learning gains in primary school. At the same time, it is intended to foster idealism among the nation’s future leaders, making them lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational excellence and equity.

2. NSS volunteers would receive a short pre-posting orientation and training. The key component of support to the volunteers would be in-service guidance and counseling, including monitoring and supervision.

3. During a two-year period, volunteers would be paid fairly generous allowances in order to ensure that they would not experience financial hardship at their postings. Following

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4. satisfactory completion of their tenure, they would be given preferred recruitment in the civil service and/or awarded a fellowship for higher studies abroad.

STRATEGY 5:

Create High-Performance Schools Based on the Best Systems of Governance, Finance, Organisation and Management

Most literature of education identifies schools as the “major institutions of learning in all society” (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005), and critical decisions about quality of the teaching/learning process are taken daily at school level. This explains why, in many countries, quality improvement policies are today paying special attention to the functioning of schools, given that they are the delivery points at which all components of the system interact. Thus, it is important to better understand how schools function.

In Bhutan, efforts toward improving school quality have been largely input-oriented, involving availability of material and human resources, rather than oriented toward modernising school governance, organisation and management. Schools therefore tend to function more like Government bureaucracies rather than learning institutions. A director of one tertiary institution was explicit with this Commission about the “bureaucracy” aspect, declaring: “We cannot even hire a sweeper without the headquarters authorising it.” We felt that principals and teachers were settling for much less authority than they knew it would take to do the job – because it had always been this way. Clearly, creating high-performance schools will not be possible unless the reality of school bureaucracy is radically changed.

In economically advanced countries, education systems are increasingly adopting highperformance management models to rethink their role and operational practices. The idea is to make their every school a high performer – where the average achievement of the learner is higher than expected – in the most cost-effective manner. Under these models, “command and control” leadership is abandoned; schools themselves are given much more autonomy, combined with more accountability for results, much greater rewards for success, and much more meaningful consequences for failure.

In the above context, and drawing from best practices in school organisation and management, we recommend the following for improving schools’ performance in Bhutan:

Leadership by and Support of MoE Toward Creating High-Performing Schools

MoE can provide leadership and support to create high-performing schools by committing itself to a comprehensive school improvement plan that would serve as a national model. To make this happen, MoE can aggressively radically change the bureaucracy and pursue improvements starting at headquarters level and cascading down to dzongkhags and individual schools, ultimately empowering schools with greater autonomy and clear accountability – but without micromanagement. Under this approach, MoE would:

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1. Initiate Empowerment of Schools

• Recruit, hire, develop and retain strong, effective school leaders and develop a principal leadership programme to build a pool of highly qualified administrators

• Authorise schools with financial and administrative powers. This would entail distributing, in one lump sum, budgeted funds to schools to be administered and

managed by the principal with his/her leadership teams of teachers. That same team also would decide (i) selection of teachers from a list of available teachers prepared by the ATD (Strategy 3); (ii) staffing structure of the school; (iii) the school calendar, and much more.

• Authorise schools to obtain supplies and services (like school maintenance) wherever they wish. This would encourage the current Central Stores to provide services in a more timely and cheaper manner.

2. Strengthen School Capacity to Adopt the New Model of Performance Management:

• Conversion to the new management model will be highly challenging, requiring concentrated time and efforts. Lack of attention to the issue of school capacity would be fatal to any education reform plan. It therefore would be incumbent upon MoE to create a technical support system to strengthen the capacity of schools to become “high performers.” MoE also would need to look into building the capacity of the Education Monitoring and Support Services Division (EMSSD), particularly in using the best education research, training and professional development techniques; benchmarking global best practices; and supporting schools continuously through high-quality technical assistance.

3. Create a New Role for Dzongkhag Education Officers and EMSSD. Dzongkhag Education Officers (DEOs) and EMSSD will need to align their operations to focus on supporting initiatives toward making every school a “high performer.” This will involve:

• Encouraging DEOs and EMSSD to avoid micromanaging schools and instead to monitor and support school management in order to achieve established performance goals

• Creating a trusting relationship between schools and DEOs/EMSSD, given that the type of relationship that exists between schools and administrators is crucial and that school managers are professional “knowledge workers” who perform best in a positive climate. Under this approach, the main mission of DEOs/ EMSSD will be to:

a) Create a climate of trust and respect between schools and offices of the DEOs/EMSSD

b) Establish and communicate clear goals and expectations

c) Develop and maintain a data system that provides timely, useful information to schools and stakeholders

d) Hold schools accountable for results

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e) Function as a service organisation and ensure that its staff sees schools and students as their clients

f) Provide resources to schools to achieve their goals

Empowering Principals

School leadership is key to the success of school reforms, and principals are the most important leaders in the system. Importance must be given in the reform process to the empowerment of principals at each school with authority, responsibility and accountability for school operations.

Engaging Teachers as Full Partners in Creating High-Performing Schools

Teachers are the linchpin for ensuring that students are successful. They are the primary point of contact with students and make a profound difference in students’ learning experiences. Therefore, teachers need to feel valued, respected and trusted; they cannot create an effective, supportive learning environment for students and do their jobs well when these conditions are not present. In the reform process, they will need to assume new responsibilities: They need not only to become leaders in their classrooms, but also to have a stake in decision making and their school’s success.

Strengthening Involvement of Parents and Communities in Improving School Performance

Schools need to ensure involvement of parents and other community members in governing and providing inputs into their operations. It is important that schools consider parents as “clients” that have stake in overall performance. In this regard, schools need to learn how their “clients” (i.e., parents) feel and what they want. This means that schools need to conduct parent satisfaction surveys and use the results to make needed changes.

Principals also would need to restructure the School Management Board (SMB) to focus on policy support, providing board members with the required authority to ensure respect for rules of good school functioning. This requires leaving operations solely to school management; in other words, the SMB should not intervene in school affairs or approve expenditures after its general meeting.

STRATEGY 6:

Support Students Who Need It Most

A major challenge in making the country’s educational system inclusive arises from the fact that a substantial number of students are economically disadvantaged. Students leaving in poverty are at much greater risk of learning and behavioural problems, health problems, abuse and neglect. In addition, living in poverty increases the chances that a student will experience difficulty in school.

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The following are recommendations to improve the lives of students at risk of falling behind:

1. Detailed screening assessments for all students that need them. Results of these assessments can be used for academic and social intervention

2. A school intervention process that helps students stay on track and at grade level. This could include tutoring, double scheduling in target areas, and any of myriad other interventions designed to keep a student from falling behind. Such services should be targeted to students whose needs are identified in the screening process and in interim assessments administered by teachers.

3. Creation of access to after-school extended day programmes and mentors

4. Provisions for health and social services at or near schools, which can increase the chances of students being healthy and ready to learn

5. Establishment of residential schools for certain students as the only way out of very trying family circumstances

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Ensure Quality Assurance of Higher Education

Based on the case study “Quality Assurance of Higher Education in Bhutan,” the following steps are recommended to improve and ensure the quality assurance of tertiary education in the country:

“Forward” and “Backward” Integration

The integration strategy is a three-pronged approach aimed at integrating the primary, secondary and higher education systems in the country; linking academic, professional and vocational programmes; and infusing an appropriate national value system in the education curricula. The education system must be viewed from a holistic, integrative perspective, rather than as compartmentalised systems. Quality has to be ensured at every stage and by everyone, rather than reliance on the final checkpoint.

The context of tertiary education in the country is seen by most people as the sole responsibility of the RUB, whereas the MoE is held accountable for primary and secondary education. Concerns exist that the quality of higher education will not improve substantially unless inputs from primary and secondary education are enhanced. To address such an issue, higher education must be integrated effectively with the primary and secondary education

in other words, “backward integration.”

On the other hand, almost all higher education institutions in the country are concerned more with offering only first-degree programmes; focus on continuing education at such institutions is minimal if it exists at all. Further, academic programmes and professional training are not well-harmonised in terms of equivalence recognition, and accreditation. Such a situation demands that tertiary education institutions adopt a strategy of “forward integration,” wherein they can develop and offer appropriate continuing education programmes based on demand within the country.

Alignment of the Education System to Long-Term Human Resource and Development Perspectives

Bhutan’s higher education system today is more reactive rather than proactive. Further, it greatly stereotypes and assumes that the same type of education that was prevalent in the past will be required in the future. Such a mindset urgently needs to be altered to align the higher education system with changing times and long-term development perspectives. Unless this is done and timely action taken, tertiary education will never converge with national goals.

Promotion of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships

The MoE, RUB and tertiary educations institutions must maintain strategic linkages with other strategic human resource development partners, including the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources, the Royal Civil Service Commission and private sector bodies, so that the “right education at the right time” is ensured in concert with HRD plans of the Royal Government and the private sector. Partnerships among higher education institutions within and outside the country also can prove useful for exchanging information on best practices.

“Re-engineering” of Higher Education Courses

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The existing tertiary education curricula and their delivery systems require further innovation to make graduates “fit for market,” rather than assuming that there will be continuous demand for traditional courses. The biggest challenge lies in understanding the quality of the outputs. To alleviate this, employing the concept of “re-engineering” is useful; this is based on the principle of redesigning the process to achieve desired outputs/outcomes. Similarly useful is the concept of “zero-base budgeting,” which critically reviews existing activities and starts everything from scratch based on rationality, rather than continuing with an activity just because it previously existed.

Smallness factor and collaboration with Other Small States

Based on Bhutan’s development experiences with neighbouring countries, the nation has learnt that outside development models do not necessarily yield good results here. This mainly arises because of different socioeconomic, cultural and in particular smallness factors. There is thus a need to come up with an appropriate model of higher education for the country.

Economies of scale cannot be harvested in a small country like Bhutan as in the big countries

and the saturation point is very quickly reached. For example, in recent years Bhutan has started producing graduates from Sherubtse College as well from outside universities – but the number of graduates with arts, commerce and general science degrees has increased so much that there is no job demand for these graduates. On the other hand, an acute shortage of graduates in the corporate/private sector exists, but the demand for skills and qualifications is different. Therefore, while mass production of graduates can work well in big states, because a surplus in one state/province can be absorbed in another, it does not work in small states given the low absorption capacity. This will require constant alteration of outputs toward “customised production,” rather than continuous mass production, to fit the requirements of the economy.

Among other, in the above context Bhutan adopted a federated model of university for establishing the RUB in 2003, with the objective to respond quickly to changing higher education needs and requirements in the country. Because many small states have similar economic, political and other challenges, sharing information and learning from their experiences can benefit Bhutan tremendously.

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Cooperation and Collaboration with Other Quality Assurance Systems

To remain competitive in the Information Age and the global community and create high innovations, Bhutan’s education system – including higher education – must be seen as playing a critical role. With the likely increasing unemployment of higher education graduates in the country, indications are that the Royal Government may facilitate employment of Bhutanese graduates in agencies internationally. This will, however, require quality higher education and benchmarking with best models to succeed in the international job market. Bhutan can gain much through cooperation and collaboration with outside higher education institutions and quality assurance agencies in its quest for making its education system globally responsive.

Collaboration between Higher Education Institutes and MoE

While RUB has come up with its guidelines and criteria to ensure the quality of tertiary education programmes, a number of issues remain to be fully addressed and require urgent attention. These include:

1. Clear guidelines and relationships between the MoE and RUB with regard to regulation and coordination of higher education

2. Specific criteria for membership in and operation of RUB’s federated model of University. Concerns exist regarding academic affiliation of programmes and administrative autonomy of some member institutions.

3. Specific guidelines for future private higher education institutions in the country to affiliate with the MoE or RUB

4. Clear guidelines on whether the MoE, RUB or other appropriate bodies should be responsible for establishing and regulating the national education framework and quality of higher education in the country. In a survey by this Commission, most respondents indicated a preference for separate independent council.

Recognising the changing circumstances within and outside the country, the Royal Government is attempting to seize the moment to review and establish a comprehensive policy for tertiary education as a guide for the future. In pursuit of this, the MoE has engaged a reputed educational research organisation to assist in formulation of such a policy.

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CHAPTER XI: Establishing Indicators for Quality Education

Under its TOR, this Commission was required to interpret “the concept of ‘quality of education,’ taking the complexity of the quality into account and how it might be measured and monitored over a period of time.” This proved very challenging, given that the quality of education is a complex and diffuse concept, difficult to characterise and open to interpretation. We chose to view the quality of education as depending on the character of the set of elements that comprise the education system. In any given situation, some elements may be of higher quality and some of lower quality. The overall rating of an education system thus depends on ratings given to individual elements and the weight attached to them.

Bearing this in mind, and based on our analysis of challenges confronting Bhutan’s education system, we used the following five broad parameters to assess the quality of Bhutanese education and draw policy makers’ attention to issues that need to be tackled effectively for achieving equity and higher rates of educational development. Establishment of indicators for these five parameters can result in assessing progress over time and facilitating further analysis of education policy issues. However, because many of our suggestions calling for adopting international education benchmarks have yet to crystallise, it has not been possible to establish achievable indicators for all recommendations.

High-Quality, Universal Early Childhood Education

As noted in earlier Chapters, studies have shown that providing high-quality Early Childhood Education can make a very large difference in the ability of children to succeed in primary school. Moreover, children from the poorest backgrounds benefit most from the provision of Early Childhood Education programmes, and pursuing high-quality, universal Early Childhood Education is necessary for achieving UPE.

Related indicators can include:

• Achieving a Gross Enrolment Rate of more than 100 percent by 2015

• Establishing an assessment system for quality assurance, as enumerated in Strategy 3, based on: a) achievement of the goal of helping prepare children for school; and b) review of the quality dimensions of Early Childhood Education programmes, including structure, process and child outcomes.

Universal Primary Education

We know that “educational loss” incurred by children at primary level is largely irreversible; hence, the importance of achieving UPE is evident.

Related indicators may include:

• Achieving a Net Enrolment Rate of 100 percent by 2015

• Ensuring a survival rate to Class V

• Establishing a mean score of 60 percent as a satisfactory level of performance. Pending establishment of the MLL (Strategy 1). The above could provide a basis for

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assessing children’s mastery of the curriculum of the terminal grade of primary education.

Universal Basic Education (Up to Class X)

Related indicators here include:

• Achieving a Gross Enrolment Rate of 100 percent or above by 2019 (based on the assumption that UPE would be achieved by 2015,

• Establishing a mean score of 60 percent as a satisfactory level of performance, pending establishment of student achievement levels proposed in Strategy 1. This would serve as a basis for assessing students’ mastery of the curriculum of the terminal grade of middle secondary education.

Universal Higher Secondary Education (Up to Class XII)

Related indicators here include:

• Achieving a Gross Enrolment Rate of 100 percent or above by 2021 (based on the assumption that GER of 100 percent at middle secondary level is achieved by 2019)

• Establishing a mean score of 60 percent as a satisfactory level of performance, pending establishment of student achievement levels proposed in Strategy 1. This would serve as a basis for assessing whether students are educated to a college-ready standard by the end of Class XII.

Tertiary Education

Related indicators here include:

• Achieving a Gross Enrolment Rate of 100 percent or above by 2022 (based on the assumption that GER of 100 percent at higher secondary level is achieved by 2021)

• Establishing comprehensive of quality assurance, accreditation and recognition of qualifications of higher education in the country

• Pursuing bilateral and/or multilateral recognition agreements to facilitate recognition of the country’s higher education qualifications

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Chapter XII: Timeframe for Pursuing Recommendations

This Commission suggests that the seven recommended strategies be taken as a whole, that is, as a system that has its own integrity and can be implemented in many ways. In this context, a suggested “road map” has been formulated to move forward over the short, medium and long term:

Short-Term Timeframe: 2008-2013 Year

1 Conceptualisation and initiation of implementation of seven strategies: 2008 - 2013

• Pursuing adaptation of international benchmarks of education

• Initiating measures for improving teachers' quality

• Creating provisions for high-quality, universal Early Childhood Education

• Pursuing achievement of UPE by 2015

• Creating high-performance schools

• Creating provisions to support students who need it most

• Establishing quality assurance for higher education

2 Enrolment of all children in PP at the officially prescribed age of 6 years 2009

Medium-Term Timeframe: 2014-2019

3

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Enrolment
2014
Achievement of Early Childhood Education GER of 100% 2015 5 Achievement of UPE NER of 100% 2015 6 Achievement of Middle Secondary Education GER of 100% 2019 Long-Term Timeframe: 2020-2025
Achievement of higher secondary education GER of 100% 2022 8 Students take the qualifying examination of new BCSE 2023 9 Students take the qualifying examination of new BHSEC 2025 10 Achievement of a remarkable increase in the proportion of Bhutanese educated to world-class levels via adoption of international benchmarks of education and international recognition of the country’s qualifications of higher education 2025 onwards
of children in Class I under international benchmarks of education
4
7

Terms of Reference of the Commission

The Commission shall; carry out a comprehensive review of the Education Sector, including early childhood education, school education, non-formal education and continuing education, technical and vocational education and tertiary education, especially focusing on the quality of education and the need to create an enlightened society based on continuous learning, in a rapidly changing social, political and economic environment and propose a road map that the Royal Government could follow in developing the whole education sector. In doing so, special attention should be paid t o the relationship between the different components of education and how each affect the other and how they are all linked to human development and the related youth issues and the quality of life. This would involve:

1. Carry out a situation analysis of the current education provision based on a study of the developments in the education sector, of its transformation in the last four-five decades, and making an assessment of how it is meeting the educational and training needs of individuals, the society and the economy at large.

2. Making an in-depth analysis of the social, political and economic environment of Bhutan and how it might be expected to change, guided by the overall development philosophy of “Gross National Happiness,” and proposing a comprehensive education provision that would meet the needs of future Bhutan as well as in consideration of individual learning and research

3. Making a comprehensive description of the concept of “quality of education” taking the complexity of the quality into account and how it might be measured and monitored over a period of time

4. Delineating key issues in the sector, particularly relating to the quality of education and indicating strategies as to how it could be addressed over short, medium and long term time frame. The recommendation for improving the system of education towards improving relevance and the quality of education should be the main output of the review. The recommendations should include:

• the kind of education that would be needed,

• how the current system might be changed to achieve this, within a time frame, and

• the areas the government needs to focus, in making its investments, in short, medium and long term time frame

5. The commission may consider view points of all section of the society including, among others, students, teachers, parents and employees

6. The Commission may conduct the review as stakeholders in the education process and not as sectorial or individual representatives. They shall have the best interest of the country and its people at heart.

7. The Commission may ask for necessary information, cooperation and assistance from the concerned ministries and other agencies, as may be necessary in the discharge of its functions

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8. The review shall be conducted over a period of I one year, starting from the formal appointment of the Commission

9. The Commission will present the work plan including the time schedule, research approach and if necessary a more comprehensive terms of reference and budget to the government

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Reflections on Education Quality in Bhutan

The development of formal education in Bhutan

The formal education system in Bhutan is still relatively young by comparison with other countries in the region. To set it in context, the provision of basic education has expanded over one generation or two decades of development to the extent that many children now completing basic education represent a new generation of learners. They have literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge learned from the classroom and from school books. In the majority of cases their parents have skills and knowledge learned in the fields and in the mountains. This picture reminds us of several important points: first that the human resource base of educated people is still very young and inexperienced. Second, that there are a range of complementary life skills and knowledge from both generations which are important for survival and everyday life in Bhutan. A third consideration is the diversity in life styles and in life skills which people in the urban areas need compared to the very different life skills learning needed in the different geographical areas of rural Bhutan.

The concern for quality in education is one in which there will always be scope for improvement. In relative terms there have been continuous improvements in standards of teacher training, relevance of the curriculum, reliability of student assessment and information management systems, quality of basic facilities such as classroom furniture, teaching and learning resources, water supply and toilet facilities, and gradual enhancements to teacher pay and conditions of service in Bhutan. It is possible to identify within each of these areas of education provision the continuing scope for improvement. However, human and financial resources are limiting factors, and economy of scale is a particular issue for Bhutan. A key challenge is therefore the identification of the areas which should be prioritised by the Ministry of Education to best utilise available resources for the most effective improvement in quality.

Baseline Data and Evaluation of Progress

The improvements in data collection through the development of the Education Management Information System (EMIS) will contribute significantly to future monitoring of improvement in the quality of education based on quantitative indicators. This provides a reliable basis for measuring trends and inequalities in the provision and costs of education. The development of national assessment mechanisms (National Education Assessment tests at Class 6 and World Bank Education Quality Survey tests at Class 2 and Class 4) will enable evaluation of trends in student performance. Similar data will be available from quantitative indicators of student performance in teacher training from which to evaluate improvement in the quality of teachers.

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Three questions may be posed:

• How will the available information be used in the formulation of a framework for action?

Recommendation: Information from surveys and national assessments can be used as baseline data against which future priorities can be identified and targets can be set.

• How will the information be used by practitioners at each level in the system?

Recommendation: In keeping with a decentralised system, practitioners at each level of the system can be encouraged to set relevant and achievable targets in their Quality Improvement Planning Process corresponding to the prioritised areas for action.

• How can education reforms and policies be effectively implemented throughout the system for improvement in quality of student outcomes?

Recommendation: The framework for action needs to incorporate practical steps for macro level decisions and directives to be delivered through local level support for implementation. Monitoring and evaluation of achievement should take into account existing conditions of inequality and differentiated measurement of achievement.

Three components are discussed below which contribute to quality improvement (i) macrolevel Sector-Wide Approach to Planning, (ii) micro-level Whole School Development and School Improvement Planning, and (iii) Quality Assurance across the whole system to achieve standards and accountability. These are illustrated in the diagram below which shows the vertical and horizontal coverage of the framework.

Framework for Quality Improvement in Education

Decentralised Planning Process

SWAP – Sector Wide Approach

Qualitative and Quantitative Targets

Quality Assurance

Whole School Development School Improvement Planning

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Component 1: Macro-Level Quality Improvement

The Royal Government of Bhutan has a commitment to provision of basic education for all children. The main responsibilities of the Ministry of Education for policy planning and financing of education may be enhanced and made more effective and efficient through implementation of a Sector Wide Approach to Planning (SWAP). This process is being developed successfully in many countries through the direct support of development partners who also collaborate to achieve a coordinated approach to quality improvement through the SWAP initiative. The SWAP process is based on the core principles of good governance including sound macro-economic and socio-economic policy, ownership and involvement of all key stakeholders in implementation of the SWAP, and effective coordination of policies and practices between development partners and government. Bhutan has already achieved much in this area and could extend this coordinated sector-wide approach by applying the principals to the process of decentralisation.

Decentralisation provides an opportunity in Bhutan for strengthening the implementation of education policy. However, two factors which will affect this process are (i) the local capacity and (ii) the variation across the country in terms of relevance and diversity. This links to the identification of priorities and the setting of targets. Assessment of local capacity will reveal different needs, for example between education managers in the urban centres and those in the most remote areas which lack infrastructure. Likewise there will be variation between districts in terms of existing facilities and Education For All targets yet to be achieved.

In the achievement of Education for All it is important to recognise the existing inequalities and to determine whether achievement of the targets should be measured by the same yardstick for all or whether there is another differentiated way to measure achievement of Education for All. Again, the recommendation of target setting can be applied to the extent that differentiated targets can be set by district administrators and schools. Achievement can then be measured against progress for each school or district in reaching its annual targets. Ownership and delegated responsibility should be seen to enhance the professional status of those in district offices and schools. Alongside the delegation of responsibility it is necessary to strengthen the decentralisation of other responsibilities such as performance monitoring and defined levels of financial control and accountability relating to quality improvement.

SWAP underpins the Education Framework for Action which is a sector-wide action plan describing the priorities and processes to be implemented over the short, medium and longer term, planning for a period of up to 10 years. The Framework for Action is tied in to broader government development mechanisms and strategies including the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), Public Investment Plan (PIP), Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan (PRSP), The Education Sector Strategy – Realising Vision 2020 Policy and Strategy and the EFA Action Plan.

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Component 2: Micro-Level Quality Improvement

The ultimate measure of the quality of education is school performance and student achievement in functional literacy, numeracy and basic life skills (UNESCO EFA Goal 6). Evaluation mechanisms should focus on learning achievement in terms of individual levels of functionality. Examination and test results focus on standardised achievement in core school subjects and are not necessarily a measure of functionality in learning achievement. Locally relevant life skills and functionality in basic literacy and numeracy are important learning achievements for the majority of children who will not have the opportunity to progress to high levels of academic achievement, including early school leavers, unemployed youth and children from rural subsistence families.

The same points can be raised for micro-level quality improvement as discussed above for macro-level quality improvement. Inequality in condition will affect school performance and student achievement. Differentiated targets can be set by each school or district to match the existing local conditions, designed to make appropriate and relevant quality improvements with local ownership and accountability. This does not imply a differentiated school curriculum or teaching methodology. Rather it links the priorities identified at national level with the local needs. For example the Education Framework may identify ten priority areas for improvement with associated national targets and each district or school might select from the national priorities three or four priority areas for improvement according to the local need. Corresponding realistic and achievable targets are not externally imposed but are set by the district or school with consideration also given to timeframe and budget. This or a similar model fits well within the decentralisation process and the new democratic system being introduced into Bhutan.

An approach which is being implemented successfully in a number of developing countries is a combination of Whole School Development and School Improvement Planning. There are variations in the approach but basically the approach provides the basis for micro-level planning, including all key stakeholders – children, parents, community and teachers. The concept of whole school development and school improvement planning incorporates the decentralisation of target-setting described above such that school improvement plans are based on the national priorities, once again applied to each situation according to local prioritisation of needs.

The concept of School Improvement Planning can be used as the framework for improvement in all education institutions and across a range of areas including student performance and student assessment, curriculum implementation, teacher professional development (pre-service and in-service teacher training), school management, school facilities. The same principals of setting targets against the national priorities can be applied selectively by the concerned education sub-sectors to improve the quality of education for each learner group – early childhood, skills for employment, unemployed youth, continuing education, and special needs.

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Component 3: Quality Assurance

The third component, which links the macro and micro level components, is Quality Assurance, a mechanism through which to ensure that standards are ultimately achieved throughout the system. Quality assurance is used in the UK to monitor the performance of schools and teacher training institutions against a legal framework of established standards. Similarly, there are regulatory frameworks in industry which set standards that are monitored through quality assurance systems. Quality assurance is an essential aspect of Druk Air operations, the benefits of which will be obvious to everyone.

In education in Bhutan there may be further scope for development of quality assurance measures which have already been introduced through the monitoring of standards in teacher training and teacher performance in schools for example. The system of teacher performance appraisal could be linked to whole school development and school improvement plans, designed to encourage professional development, not as a disciplinary procedure. The model is based on the principal that internally imposed targets provide the most effective means of improving quality.

The emphasis given to Values Education in Bhutan provides a foundation for strengthening of the Quality Assurance system. Teachers are familiar with the concept in principal and there is a widespread understanding of the importance of Values Education. A Framework for Values Education is currently being developed. This may serve as a basis for all schools and educational institutions to reflect on ways in which to improve quality, built into Whole School Development and School Improvement Plans. For example, relationships may be used as a topic for internal review of self-discipline and meaning of respect within the school and in the wider community. The process can involve teachers, children and other stakeholders. It represents an opportunity for quality improvement by taking Values Education as a national priority which can be implemented at a local level of commitment and participation.

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The Heart Essence of Education in Bhutan

Understanding the Nature of mind and practicing mindfulness

“Gross National Happiness” is Bhutan’s development Philosophy. Happiness can be achieved through material wellbeing resulting in ‘physical comfort’ and ‘inner peace and contentment’ says Sogyel Rinpoche. Economic development and equitable distribution of wealth thus generated will bring greater physical comfort to all. ‘Understanding the nature of mind and practicing mindfulness’ should lead to greater ‘inner peace and contentment’. This should form the heart essence of the Bhutanese education at all levels.

If Bhutan is able to integrate ‘understanding the nature of mind and practicing mindfulness’ it would become something that is very unique to Bhutanese education. Most education systems do not deal with ‘understanding and training the mind’ directly. Yet it seems that it is the most important aspect of education and that it could provide answers to some of the youth problems through calming their thoughts and emotions.

This is perhaps what His Majesty, the 4th Druk Gyalpo has been meaning when he stressed that “Sem gochoep zoni” or ‘understanding and directing ones mind to positive ends’ should form the foremost objective of educating our children and youth, when ever our teachers had an audience. ‘Mind training’ as a direct programme has been exactly what has been missing in the education of our children and youth.

Where are we?

The concept of “Sem gochoep zoni” or ‘understanding and directing ones mind and to positive ends’, has been programmed and worked on since 1996-97. Value education classes have been introduced and programmes ranging from, further promotion of games and sports to introduction of scouting and counselling has been carried out.

More recently it has been found that a more direct method practiced in the Buddhist tradition used in engendering ‘the understanding of the nature of the mind and practicing mindfulness’ could be used in the schools with some adaptation. The adaptation and the possible programme has been worked out with Zhung Dratshang under the guidance of Yangpei Lopen Chimed on the behest of His Holiness the Je Khenpo. This was a result of a request made by the then Honourable Minister of Health and Education, Lyonpo Sangay Ngedrup to His Holiness the Je Khenpo.

The ‘Choshed’ or ‘the Dharma talk’ program lead by Honourable Yangpei Lopen was piloted in Yangchenphug HSS in 2003, and Punakha HSS,in 2004 and it was conducted every Saturday for four to five months every year. Based on the success and popularity of the program, it was extended to Motithang HSS and Bajo HSS in 2005. A ten day ‘Choeshed’, ‘Ngoendro’ and meditation program for 100 selected teachers from all Middle and Higher Secondary School were conducted in the summer of 2005. A similar program was conducted for the 80 graduating teachers of Samtse College of Education in the winter of 2005. The

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‘Choeshed’ or ‘the Dharma talk’, programme was introduced to all Middle and Higher Secondary Schools in 2006. Venerable Yangpei Lopen travelled to all HSS and MSS in the country to initiate the programme. It is now conducted through a network of Shedra Lopens and Dratshang Netens coordinated by the teachers who have been initiated in the ten day training programme. A seven day training for about eighty other teachers through Dharma talk, Ngoendro and meditation has been conducted in the winter of 2006 to further strengthen the programme. A handbook which outlines the essential Dharma themes have also been published and distributed to the schools in 2006.

‘Choeshed’ has become a popular and a useful programme which as also been endorsed to be promoted by the 83rd Nation Assembly. While convinced of the usefulness of the ‘Choeshed’ programme, in the intellectual understanding, internalising the understanding of the nature of mind and cultivating mindfulness, would require experiential knowledge and wisdom. Ngoendro practice and short meditations are envisaged to be introduced in the daily programme of the schools. This programme could be piloted in schools. The pre-requisite is that all teachers may need to be trained in the practice Ngoendro and short meditations. The details need to be worked out, however.

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