MoU: Despite an increasing number of technical graduates from institutions like the College of Natural Resources (CNR) entering the labour market every year, the majority of graduates fail to get a job in their parent organization, the agriculture ministry.

The ministry has been the primary organization recruiting most of the CNR technical graduates. However, with human resource requirements at the ministry saturating, the need to reorient the syllabus and curricula at the college has emerged.

With the requirement of a new system at the college and ministry, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the livestock department and CNR.

According to the MoU, a Joint Science and Development Committee will be established between the two organizations to foster a close technical working relationship. The committee, which will consist of seven members from both the organizations, will act as a technical advisory team in favour of both the organizations.

CNR’s Dean of Research, (Dr) DB Gurung, said that the need is to diversify the programmes at the college and introduce new curricula that will provide wider options to the graduates. “The agriculture ministry has been our primary client when it comes to giving jobs to our graduates,” he said. “But now there are very limited vacancies at the ministry which leaves our graduates jobless.”

(Dr) DB Gurung said that the Committee will focus on measures on how to develop new curricula and programmes that would be practical in the current market. “The committee will share recommendations on how to reorient ourselves at the college in respect to the human resource requirements in the market.”

Officials said that the committee will also help in strengthening the linkage between the organizations that was once together and promote the sharing of technical knowledge and skills through institutional collaboration.

CNR was established in 1992 as the Natural Resources Training Institute (NRTI) by the agriculture ministry to train extension agents. The concept of training was based on the Bhutanese farming system in which crops, livestock and forests are integral parts of the rural livelihood system.

With the launch of the Royal University of Bhutan in 2003, NRTI was inducted as a member college of the university in 2004.

Younten Tshedup