Entrepreneurship is an activity that involves discovery, innovation and exploitation of opportunities to address socioeconomic issues and fill in the gaps. A business is an economic activity that is legally established to provide goods and services to the customers.
Nature of the business and entrepreneurship education
The new curriculum with the principle 'less is more' led to the change of discipline name from commerce to Business and entrepreneurship. This course at secondary level is a multi-discipline subject consisting of accountancy; finance; marketing; human resource management; and economics. The range of topics designed will equip learners with fundamental entrepreneurial skills and competencies to spot business opportunities, generate business idea, and be able to pitch them. Besides, it also builds a foundation to pursue higher education in the field of entrepreneurship and business.
Objectives of the Business and Entrepreneurship course
The following are the objectives of Business and Entrepreneurship course.
- Develop a solid foundation for higher studies in the field of business and avail career opportunities in the relevant field.
- Prepare enterprising individuals to innovate and generate unique solutions to emerging problems.
- Recognize and understand ethical issues and values in line with GNH philosophy to ensure efficiency and integrity in managing the public and private resources.
- Nurture entrepreneurial skills and competencies.
Changing scenario of business education at national and international level
Business and entrepreneurship course has seen a number of changes over the years. One of the most significant changes has been the shift from traditional conceptual-based learning to an application-based knowledge course. It consists of concrete research-based knowledge across multiple disciplines. This shift has been driven by the need to keep up with the ever-changing world. As Bhutan and the world has entered the era of technology, mobile phones, television, access to electricity, digital banking, online services and cloud computing is gradually dominating the world. This digital transformation has created a requirement for its surroundings to adapt accordingly and education is no exception.
Positive GDP growth rate, increased budget, higher youth literacy rates and financial literacy coverage, and rising entrepreneurial mindsets are constantly changing the state of the economy and causing the business regulations to change as well.
Rising entrepreneurial mindsets in Bhutan
From the survey conducted by the then Ministry of labor and human resource (MOLHR) now, Ministry of Tade, Industry and Commerce, on assessment of entrepreneurship support services among the job seekers. The results reveal that youth's perception on entrepreneurship as a potential career was 72% which was quite higher than previous years. Most of them also had little knowledge on the programs related to entrepreneurship such as business idea competitions, startup weekends, trainings and incubation centers.
The focus on entrepreneurship started to become stronger from 2019. Government felt the need of entrepreneurship for economic development and growth. Eventually G2B and courses were launched. Government have initiated basic and comprehensive entrepreneurship courses, trainings on micro-work and online freelancing, startup weekend, incubation center at colleges and a startup center at Changzamtog that also serves as market for Bhutanese products. These incubation and startup centers provide pre-incubation courses, co-working spaces and research and consultations. Jigme Namgyal Wangchuck Super Fab Lab was introduced in 2021 to provide platform for researches, digital fabrication and rapid prototyping.
Non-profit organization like Loden foundation aids in funding startups ranging from150,000 to 1500,000 interest and collateral free loans. They provide trainings, moral and technical support. Additionally, they provide SEED fund (Student Empowerment through Entrepreneurship Development) to students at tertiary educational level with the aim to promote and develop entrepreneurial skills and abilities of young students. DHI and Loden jointly funds businesses for new or expansion purposes too.
The following link covers the programs. https://www.moice.gov.bt/?page_id=240850
Need and importance of business and entrepreneurship course.
The old curriculum was bulky, examination driven content, irrelevancy of context, and lack of preparedness for creativity and innovation in the business world, thus providing little room for learners to enhance and exhibit their skills required for the world of work. Hence, business and entrepreneurship course is introduced in order to address these shortcomings and challenges of the old curriculum.
Increased exposure to global market has made awareness of emerging issues crucial. Besides, business driven economy is also needed to address economic challenges: unemployment; debt; and trade deficit and bring about faster economic development. Therefore, this course acts as a foundation for higher studies in business and develop entrepreneurship as a potential career.
As the world is becoming digitalized, Bhutan also endeavors into digital transformation. This requires the businesses and future generations to embark onto such learnings to be able to incorporate those changes and go along with change. Global issues such as climate change also demands environmental-friendly business approaches. Thus, this course includes values and GNH philosophies aligned with the national goals to be integrated into business for Bhutanese ecosystem.
Role of teacher in business and entrepreneurship course
I as a teacher, plays several roles in business and entrepreneurship course.
- Facilitate aid in achieving the set goals of the course.
- Provide reading materials and other resources to help students access information.
- Assess their works using proper assessment tools to bring about improvements and exploit their full potential.
- Give students opportunity to work cooperatively, use technology and move forward.
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