Walking the talk

For a long while, teachers and doctors have been talked up by politicians across political parties, but there was not as much to show when it came time to walk the talk.

The DNT government must be commended for coming up with a visionary and long-term pay hike recommendation when it comes to our teachers and medical professionals.

Health and Education are the two most important sectors, not only for the development of a country, but also its people.

The benefit of the government’s decision is both short-term and long-term. In the short-term it will stem the attrition rate in these two sectors which keeps losing its best and brightest and also be a huge boost to the professionals working here.

In the longer run, the best and brightest will flock to these two professions and this in turn will have a hugely positive impact on our youth and our health.

The benefits of a healthy nation with a strong education system is manifold especially in the economy of the future that will increasingly rely on human capital.

The pay hike should not be seen simply as a hike but as an investment in the future of Bhutan.

There may be other civil servants who will begrudge this higher hike, but this is a very short-term view and reflects a poor understanding of the huge workload and enormous stress placed on our teachers and medical professionals.

While a normal civil servant will have a work station, 9 to 5 job and can enjoy the perks of TA/DA, trainings and trips the same cannot be said for the vast majority of our teachers and medical staff who do not even have an office to call their own.

Their work hours run beyond 5 pm and often flow into weekends and nights. The work itself is stressful whether dealing with class after class of young students or a long line of sick patients.

This is the least we can do for them.

Passion should meet your professional life, and I’m a living, breathing testament to that.
Bozoma Saint John