The government will help the Bhutanese youths placed in Japan under the Earn and Learn programme with their loan repayment. Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering said this in the National Assembly today.
The Dewathang-Gomdar MP Ugyen Dorji raised the issue. He asked if the government has any plans to help the Bhutanese youth placed overseas under the overseas employment schemes.
“The previous government initiated the overseas employment scheme. But there have been issues around it. For instance, the Earn and Learn programme in Japan,” he said.
“There are also hundred others in Malaysia and India who were promised decent jobs, which didn’t happen when they got there. It’s the labour ministry that sent the youth through the agents. What plans are in place for those who are suffering under such schemes?” he asked.
Prime Ministry Dr Lotay Tshering said the government is aware of the fact that it’s challenging for the Bhutanese youths in Japan to meet their living expenses and repay the loan from their earnings.
He said the cabinet met and decided that the least the government could do is to encourage them to stay and continue studying Japanese language until they get a decent job in Japan. He said the government will halt their loan repayment until the youths finish their Japanese language course.
“Currently, while studying they do not get enough time and opportunity to work and earn. But once they learn Japanese language, they will be employed in accordance to their potential and skills. They are in a first world country and once they are employed there, things will change for good. It will be challenging while studying. For the time being, until they finish Japanese language study and get a decent job, we can extend the loan repayment deadline,” the prime minister said.
In the case of those who have returned home, Lyonchhen said, the government will explore employment schemes so that they can work and repay their loans.
He also added that henceforth, sending youth overseas would require thorough briefing by the agencies on the cultural background of the country that the youths are being sent to.
“Both the agents and the youth failed to understand what it is like to go and work in a developed country where every second counts. It’s important to know about the country you’re going to work in or to tell the youth before you send them. If not, the youth are bound to experience culture shock.”
The prime minister also said a team headed by officials from the labour ministry will leave for Japan to study the situation.
Around 60 youths who went to Japan as part of the Earn and Learn programme have come back.
Some 700 of them are still in Japan.
The programme, which involves the Bhutan Employment Overseas (BEO) and the labour ministry, has become a controversial one with the students and parents accusing the BEO and the ministry of various allegations.
Other overseas schemes that placed Bhutanese youths in India and Malaysia have also faced criticisms.
