Dechen Dolkar

Around 2,000 individuals had registered for International English Language Testing System (IELTS) at the Institute for Management Studies (IMS) in Thimphu on Thursday.

There are only 800 slots for the test which will be conducted on April 21st, 23rd,  and 30th.

In Bhutan, IMS and the Royal Institute of Management (RIM) conduct the IELTS exams, which was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The Academic and Training Director at IMS, Tshering Dorji, said that it was a great relief to the many Bhutanese people who were planning to go abroad for further studies. “Those of them who got scholarships also couldn’t go due to the suspension of IELTS test in the country.”

Before the pandemic, the institute used to conduct tests on a monthly basis. However, the director said that it would depend and there were so many factors to consider.

Currently, the institute charges Nu 17,500 for the test.

The director said that the modality of the test was different. The resources have to come from India and they have to stay in a quarantine facility the cost of which has to be borne by the institute. “This time the speaking test has to be conducted via zoom using technology and cost has increased little.”

The director said that the test would be provided on a first-come-first basis. There are around 160 candidates registered in March.

The RIM at Simtokha also plans to conduct IELTS towards the end of May in collaboration with the British Council in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, around 82 individuals are still waiting for test fee refund from RIM. They had registered in January 2020 and paid Nu 13,000 each for the test. The test was supposed to be held on March 21, 2020.