Thinley Namgay 

To meaningfully engage students amid growing fear of Covid-19, the Ministry of Education (MoE) yesterday launched ‘Bhutan e-Learning’.

Starting today, students from PP to 12 can learn their lessons through television.

The ministry has so far recorded 67 video lessons.

The lessons will be broadcast on BBS two at 9am and BBS one from 12 noon starting today.

For class PP to six, lessons are on English, Dzongkha and Mathematics. For class seven to 12, the lessons are theme-based.

MoE’s Officiating Secretary, Karma Tshering, said that for classes seven to 12, the lessons were based on selective topics from the syllabus.

He said that competency-based questions would be given to assess students’ progress. “There is no exam as such.”

Officiating secretary said that the ministry would discuss with print media to convert the broadcasted lessons so that students do not miss the lessons.

Education Minister Jai Bir Rai acknowledged the concerns shown by the parents and teachers. “Some parents have even bought smartphones for their children because of this initiative. But then parents should also discuss with teachers to engage the children gainfully.”

A book called ‘The guidelines for curriculum implementation plan for education in emergency (EiE)’ was also launched yesterday.

This book contains guidelines on implementation of e-Learning in school education, roles and responsibility of different stakeholders, early childhood care and development and special education needs, non-formal education, reaching the unreached through print media, and volunteer teachers of Bhutan.