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KP Sharma
Days after the National Assembly decided to postpone the discussion of the Education Bill, the Special Committee on Education of the National Council has attributed the current problems and challenges in the education sector to the lack of a concrete education bill.
This is key to addressing current challenges, the committee said in its interim report submitted yesterday.
The report aims to examine the differences between rural and urban students in terms of quality of education, infrastructure, teachers, funding and access to technology.
The committee’s chairman, Tshering Wangchen, highlighted the 2020 Royal Education Reform in his report to parliament.
The decree states that education is indispensable and must be revitalized by adapting school structures, revisiting curriculum, pedagogy, learning processes and assessment to meet the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century.
The report noted that despite significant progress in the education sector through various policies following the enactment of the decree, redundancies still exist in the education system and a clear direction and legal framework are needed to ensure the effective functioning of the sector.
Tshering Wangchen said the national education policy, which has been drafted since 2009, needs to be finalised, which has left the Ministry of Education heavily dependent on the Education Policy Guidelines and Instructions (EPGI) to manage education in Bhutan.
The committee found that the fluid nature of the EPGI makes it difficult to ensure inclusive and sustainable transformation of the education system.
A major issue the committee found was that the lack of a legal framework led to differences in the understanding of existing policies and guidelines among implementers, resulting in inconsistent implementation.
“Bhutan may need a strong legal framework, such as an education law, to ensure that its education endeavours remain on track,” the report states.
The commission’s research examined education systems in Southeast Asia, Europe, East Asia and South Asia, focusing on the impact of legislation and policies.
The report added that EPGI’s heavy reliance on circulars, notifications and ad hoc decisions by the Ministry of Education has led to weaknesses and uncertainty in the education system.
Furthermore, the lack of uniformity and the discretion exercised by decision-makers make the Ministry’s policies unreliable.
The lack of legal status further undermines the effectiveness of the EPGI.
“Teachers and students face numerous challenges due to frequent changes in curriculum, assessment methods, teaching methods and the entire system,” the report states.
The committee also expressed concern about the draft national policy, which has remained unchanged since it was first drawn up in 2009 and still awaits approval and implementation.
Jamyang Namgyal, NC member from Pema Gyatso, stressed the importance of ensuring that Bhutan’s education system is up-to-date with the times, noting that since Bhutan aims to become a high-income country by 2034, the relevance of education is crucial to achieving this goal.
“Automation, artificial BroadCast Unitedligence and cloud computing are becoming more popular and even replacing humans, which has prompted education to equip learners with analytical and critical thinking skills,” said Jiang Yanglangjie.
He added that it is important to bring technology into the classroom for a better educational experience, but he lamented that budgetary constraints in most schools hinder this.
Jamyang Namgyal urged the government to provide financial support for such facilities and said education must aim for excellence and employability.
Prominent MP Phuntsog Labdan acknowledged the importance of the bill but suggested that Parliament should weigh the national education policy against the urgency of the bill.
Meanwhile, Minister of Education and Skill Development Yeezang De Thapa told Parliament that the National Education Policy is ready and will be put under public consultation after the Cabinet’s approval.
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