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.

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:

• 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

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 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

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

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:

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 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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 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

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

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

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

Reflections on Education Quality in Bhutan

by Marion Young

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

The Heart Essence of Education in Bhutan

By Dasho Pema Thinlay, Vice Chancellor RUB

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