… one teacher resigns every eight days in Phuentsholing this year

Dechen Dolkar

Within the past six months, 22 teachers have left their schools resulting in an acute shortage of teachers in the four schools in Phuentsholing thromde. 

Thromde has four public schools – two high schools and two primary schools.

The officiating chief thromde education officer, Chhimi Rinzin, said that most of the teachers resigned towards the end of June, leaving the schools with a combined teacher shortage of 19 teachers for the second term of this academic year.

He said that thromde has also recruited 10 substitute teachers during the first term of school for seven months. “They were recruited from mid of May until end of December.

He said that they were placed in two high schools since there were teacher shortages in schools.

The officiating chief thromde officer said that despite floating vacancies, it is very difficult to get subject teachers especially for the STEM subjects.

“Some applicants resign after recruiting and we have to look for other applicants taking long procedures and the students are left without teachers,” he said.

He said that from the second term of this academic year, there is a shortage of 19 teachers in total in four schools in the thromde.

Phuentsholing higher secondary school has a shortage of six teachers; three in mathematics and one each in Physics, geography, and history.

Similarly, Phuentsholing Rigsar higher secondary school is short by one physics teacher.

Phuentsholing Primary School has a shortage of six teachers for general subjects and one Dzongkha teacher and Sonamgang primary school has a shortage of five teachers for general subjects.

He said that thromde has already submitted to the ministry the requirement of teachers in schools and hopeful that the ministry will place the teachers accordingly.

Meanwhile, 128 Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) graduates were recruited from July 1.

The Royal Civil Service Commission conducted the oath of allegiance ceremony for them, on Tuesday. They have completed 18 months of training from Paro College of Education and Samtse College of Education after getting selected through the BCSE 2021. 

They will join the schools from July 2023 onwards in dzongkhags and thromdes across the country.

However, five of them withdrew before the oath-taking ceremony. They will have to refund double the expenditure incurred during the 18 months course, amounting to Nu 460,000.

Schools across the country have a combined teacher shortage of 842 teachers.