118 STEM teachers including 100 Indian STEM teachers to join next month

During the 33rd session of Parliament, Khamdang-Ramjar MP Namgay Dorji asked the Education Minister about the rising teacher shortage in Bhutan.

He stated, “Of the 10,134 teachers, 3,597 have resigned between 2021 and 2024, which is about 35.5%. This also includes many experienced educators with 11 to 15 years of service.”

He elaborated that his observations reveal a more acute teacher shortage in schools located in remote and rural areas of Bhutan and that this situation casts doubt on the quality of education in these regions.

In response, Education Minister Yeezang D Thapa addressed the issue by first mentioning the teacher shortage in STEM subjects.

Lyonpo stated that there are a total of 567 schools in Bhutan. Among these, 492 are public schools, 28 are private schools, and 47 are ECR (Extended Classroom) schools.

Lyonpo then focused on the 492 government schools where there was a shortage of 1,110 STEM teachers: 479 in Mathematics, 241 in ICT, 193 in Physics, and 197 in Chemistry.

“This year, there an immediate shortage of 135 STEM teachers,” said the Education Minister. “Specifically, we lack 46 in Mathematics, 38 in ICT, 22 in Physics, and 29 in Chemistry. To address this issue, we are anticipating 18 PGDE graduates, with 9 specializing in Mathematics, 1 in ICT, and 4 each in Chemistry and Physics.”

Lyonpo mentioned that the remaining 100-teacher shortage will be filled by hiring teachers from India next month. This includes 35 for Mathematics, 18 for Physics, 19 for Chemistry, and 28 for ICT.

This will leave only 17 teacher shortages: 2 in Mathematics, 4 in Chemistry, and 9 in ICT.

Lyonpo says, “Next year we will get the PGDE pass-outs filled by them and from next year we will make sure that not one school faces a shortage of STEM teachers at all.”

The Khamdang-Ramjar MP then questioned how the Ministry conducted this research, pointing out that there are still many teachers who wish to join the schools.

According to him, hiring teachers from India regresses Bhutan back to the 1980s when Bhutanese schools were predominantly staffed by Indian teachers and led by Indian principals.

The MP also highlighted that despite the government’s efforts to recruit new teachers, an equal or greater number of teachers continue to leave their positions.

“We do have many retired teachers in our country who wish to join teaching. However, we also have to consider that when recruiting, we prioritize quality teachers. Additionally, when hiring teachers from India, our focus is primarily on experienced teachers of high quality,” said the Education Minister.