From next year, the class seven students in the country will get to study the new Bhutan Civics Textbook. The Royal Education Council (REC) is currently working on its framework.
Bhutan Civics, as a separate curriculum, was introduced in 2006. Since then it has remained without any updates.
Academicians, politicians and researchers highlighted the current Civics Textbook having textual errors. Some also said it lacked attractive illustrations for young learners making the subject monotonous.
“There are also changes in some updates like numbers and figures, which have become redundant because it is not updated with new information. And also, it’s too heavy and one of the recommendations in the 2016 curriculum conference was to reduce the syllabus,” Sonam Chuki (PhD), Curriculum Developer of History Education in REC, said.
Specialists from the REC, some senior educationists who worked with Civics and Citizenship education are currently drafting the framework for Bhutan Civics subject. The framework will help in developing the textbook and teaching-learning materials.
“Curriculum framework is very technical. For example, for the civics and citizenship education curriculum framework, we are looking at the guiding principles and the learning standard according to the psychological, emotional and biological age of learners,” Sonam Chuki (PhD) said.
The REC is also planning on updating the Civics Textbooks for other classes.