The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The government, during the question-hour session of the National Assembly yesterday, was questioned on whether there are strategies and plans in place to address the employment issues faced by the current lot of contract teachers, community teachers, and the new batch of 2015 university graduates. MP of Panbang, Dorji Wangdi, asked the Labour and Human Resources (MoLHR) Minister to explain the issues.
Lyonpo Ngeema Sangay Tshempo said government is creating employment opportunities for contract teacher after their contract has ended. He said the ministry in consultation with Ministry of Education will provide teacher’s license to the contract teachers who have 2-3 years of teaching experience. “Contract teachers who have teacher’s license can find overseas employment opportunities,” Lyonpo said.
He informed the House that the ministry along with the Royal Institute of Management (RIM) will carry out a teacher knowledge test. This is expected to help the contract teachers, as contract term is over, to find better teaching jobs within and outside the country. He said this is one of the ways that the ministry looking after the issue of employing contract teacher.
He said that there are 213 university graduates and 343 class twelve graduates assigned as contract teachers. Out of 213 university graduates as contract teachers, 70 contracts are ending by next year.
He said that there are many employment opportunity programs for university graduates provided by the ministry, like Guaranteed Employment Program (GEP), where a graduate is paid Nu 7500 by the ministry, in addition to Nu 3750 paid by the employing agency.
As for the overseas employment opportunities, Lyonpo said the ministry gives more opportunity to the university graduates than the class ten and twelve graduates. The university graduates are also provided with training to enhance their skills for employment, outside and within country.
As the self-employment ventures, the MoLHR Minister said the ministry is signing Memorandum of Understanding with the Business Opportunity and Information Centre (BOiC) that will help to provide loans to start business.
