The Ministry of Education and Skills Development recently issued a list of selected teachers who will be rejoining the service on contract. However, some teachers withdrew their applications. According to the ministry, the teachers who withdrew from the selected list were due to placement reasons. In addition, some were unhappy about not being recruited as regular contract teachers. Over a hundred teachers were selected between February and March to rejoin the service.
Although the exact number of teachers who withdrew could not be confirmed, the Education and Skills Development Ministry said they wanted to be placed either within Thimphu, Paro, or nearby Thimphu.
The ministry said that agreeing to this would defeat the whole purpose of recruitment. The rationale behind the initiative to get the resigned teachers back into service was to fill the gap of teacher shortage including in rural areas.
Additionally, some individuals expressed a preference for appointment as regular contract teachers.
According to the ministry, the selected teachers are being recruited on consolidated contracts with specific advantages including protected seniority, ensuring their final salary matches that of their position at resignation, exemption from undergoing selection processes, and eligibility for retirement benefits.
With selected individuals withdrawing their applications, it is unlikely that the issue of teacher shortage will take some time to resolve. Nonetheless, the ministry is hopeful that it will be eased after receiving the next batch of Post Graduate Diploma in Education graduates in July.
The ministry also added that, if required, the ministry will recruit the graduates of Paro College of Education and Samtse College of Education due for graduation in June for a duration of six months before they appear for the Bhutan Civil Service Exam.
Sonam Yuden
Edited by Phub Gyem
