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Bhutan joins PISA-D programme

Bhutan joins PISA-D programme

May 23, 2017

The Royal Government of Bhutan accords its highest priority to the education sector as the country’s quality of health, prosperity, happiness, and progression hinges on the quality of its education.  To this effect, the Ministry of Education has taken several reform initiatives to ensure that there are improvements in access, equity, and system efficiencies to enhance the quality of education in the country. The reform initiatives are primarily targeted at improving the school system, curriculum, assessment, and the competencies of the teachers.

The education reform initiatives are implemented as per the strategic direction of the aspirational document — the Bhutan Education Blueprint 2014-2024, which is a ten-year strategic plan document for the Ministry of Education. The Blueprint recommends several key strategies and interventions to improve access, equity, system efficiency, and the overall quality of education. One of the major recommendations is to partake in international large-scale assessment programmes such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

In view of this and, as a preparation for PISA 2021, Bhutan has decided to join the (PISA-D) programme. Recognizing the importance of participating in international assessment to check the state of education in the country against the international standards, the Ministry of Education endorsed and signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for PISA-D participation on 12th January 2017. This signing took place during the 18th National Education Conference in the presence of His Excellency Lyonchen Tshering Tobgay, the Prime Minister, and Lyonpo Norbu Wangchuk, the Minister of Education.

Participation in PISA-D will help Bhutan to:

  • Set a benchmark (baseline) profile of the knowledge, skills, and competencies of the 15 year-old students in Bhutan.
  • Collect evidence about the readiness of the Bhutanese education system for entry into the main PISA in 2021.
  • Build local and institutional capacities in terms of the standards and structures to implement large-scale education assessments.

The Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment (BCSEA), an entity which is in charge of the national assessment in Bhutan, will serve as a focal point of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and be fully responsible for coordination and implementation of PISA-D in order to carry out the activities as per the agreed terms of reference for BCSEA.

The implementation strategy for PISA-D in Bhutan will be quite different from other countries as it joined the programme in a later stage. A total sample of 2000 15 year-old students from 50 schools will take part in the main survey study of Strand A, which will be carried out in October, 2017. The study will test students’ abilities in reading, mathematics and science.

Written by:

Arjun Gurung, Education Monitoring Officer, BCSEA

For more information, please contact:

Arjun Gurung [arjunkumargurung@bcsea.bt]

Related links:

NEQMAP
Bhutan
Asia-Pacific
Assessment
PISA
PISA-D
Capacity Development