Schools under Thimphu Thromde say the School Strategic Plan which was implemented at the start of this academic year will benefit them in the long run. The Thromde’s education division initiated the plan that is intended to help guide the schools to focus on prioritised areas from 2023 to 2027. Moreover, the plans which are formulated by the respective schools will align with the 13th Five-Year-Plan.
The initiative mandates schools to prepare a comprehensive Five-Year Plan that outlines their vision, mission, goals, objectives, and other action plans over the five-year period.
The initiative covers various aspects of school management including academic performance, students’ well-being, leadership and teacher professionalism, collaboration and partnership, infrastructure development, and educational facilities.
This is in line with the ongoing transformation in the education sector according to the Thromde education division. It was initiated in mid of last year as a collaborative effort led by the Thromde education division involving the 19 schools under its jurisdiction.
Though it is a new initiative, some schools in Thimphu already have been implementing similar plans before the formalised School Strategic Plan was implemented. However, the informal plans were usually focused on general functioning of the school.
“Changangkha has this five-year strategic plan from 2018 itself. So we had a strategic plan from 2018 to 2022. It was much easier for us to take off in 2022 when Thromde came up with this initiative. The differences that we see in this strategic plan from 2023 to 2027 are the focus areas, which are much different than the previous one,” said Nyendo, Principal of Changangkha MSS.
“Basically, I think the strategic plan has helped us to really focus on area where we need to. Lots of prioritisation is taking place and there are lots of tangible changes happening,” said Sonam Phuntsho, Principal of Changzamtog MSS.
The Thromde says the implementation of the School Strategic Plan will also help address the pressing issues related with infrastructure development and student enrollment in schools. For instance, Lungtenphu Middle Secondary School, one of the oldest schools in Thimphu have been showing signs of disrepair. It was upgraded to a middle secondary school in 2019, however, the school has yet to receive all the required infrastructure and facilities of such a school. Schools like this will be benefitted through the strategic plan.
Tashi Dekar
Edited by Kipchu
