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Dorokha Central School in Samtse is facing a critical shortage of eight teachers in key subjects, a situation that shows ongoing teacher deployment issues experienced across Bhutan.
“There are eight teacher shortages: History, Dzongkha, Mathematics, Economics, and IT subjects,” said the school’s Principal, adding that while the school has also been facing a shortage of boards, and orders have already been placed to address this.
A source within the school informed The Bhutanese that many students remain without essential learning materials. “Few classes don’t have textbooks, but it’s expected to arrive next week,” the source said.
A school staff member shared that only about half of the students in some classes have English textbooks, and there are only about 20 worn-out dictionaries left in the store. “I noticed that there is only one whiteboard in the school,” the source said.
Calling the situation urgent, one source said, “This is a serious issue that must be addressed immediately. We have been waiting since the start of the academic session. Planning and recruitment of teachers should be done well before the academic year begins. However, our concerned authorities tend to wait until the last moment, and in the end, it is the students who suffer.”
A teacher from the school expressed concerns that the late approval of teachers by the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) has significantly disrupted the school’s ability to start the academic session on time, and is now affecting syllable coverage and lesson delivery.
“The academic session is supposed to start in February; however, some classes had to start very late due to the late approval of teachers by RCSC,” the teacher said. “We are unable to practice effective learning because of the teacher shortage. We have been compressing the period division to manage this issue.”
The teacher added that the school is unable to meet the required number of periods for many subjects. For example, English classes are supposed to run five periods per week per class, but in some cases, only four periods are being delivered. Teachers are also experiencing high workloads. “A History teacher is taking 32 periods in a week out of 40, while a Dzongkha teacher is taking 34 periods,” the teacher shared.
Beyond academic challenges, the teacher highlighted infrastructure concerns that affect student welfare. “Girls have to get outside of the hostel to fetch water. It (water) rarely reaches the girl’s washroom in the hostels,” the teacher said.
The Bhutanese has previously reported on teacher shortages in several rural and remote schools. These shortages, according to MoESD are often linked to systemic delays in teacher recruitment approvals by the RCSC.
Earlier this year, Education and Skills Development Minister, Yeezang D. Thapa, during an interview with the media, explained that while the ministry identifies teacher needs early, the approval process falls under the purview of RCSC. This means schools are often left waiting for teacher postings or replacements well into the academic session.
The Minister said that discussions are ongoing to improve coordination between the ministry and RCSC but acknowledged that civil service procedures take time, especially when involving inter-dzongkhag transfers, in-service placements, or filling positions in hard-to-reach schools.
This has become an annual concern for many schools, particularly those located in rural dzongkhags like Samtse, Zhemgang, Dagana, and Lhuentse, where recruiting and retaining teachers remains a long-standing challenge.
In the past, several principals and district education officers have pointed out that schools with high student populations and vast subject requirements struggle the most.
As seen in Dorokha Central School, a shortage in multiple subjects means teachers are often assigned excessive workloads, which may lead to burnout and declining quality in lesson delivery.
In a previous report by The Bhutanese, it was noted that certain schools had to merge subject periods entirely until new teachers arrived.
While the ministry has attempted to solve some of these issues through transfers and recruitment of contract teachers, it is evident that a more permanent, timely, and coordinated teacher deployment system is needed.
Teachers and school leaders have been calling for the teacher placement process to be completed before the academic year begins, ideally by January, to ensure that lesson planning and student learning are not compromised.
Unless a more proactive system is put in place, many schools may continue to operate in survival mode, that is, managing schedules instead of teaching to their full potential.
