KP Sharma

In a bid to address the acute shortage of teachers in schools, the Ministry of Education and Skill Development (MoESD) has taken a significant stride, offering over 150 vacancies for qualified graduates trained in teaching. 

This move comes after the Royal Civil Service Commission’s (RCSC) formal approval of the ministry’s proposal on July 5.

According to a notification issued by the ministry on July 19, the education ministry is set to recruit 125 national contract teachers (NCT) and 29 regular contract teachers (RCT) for immediate deployment in schools.

Interestingly, the vacancies for regular contract teachers are exclusively open to Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) holders of 2023 who pursued their training as self-financed students in the two teaching training colleges.

An official from RCSC clarified that the decision to prioritise the recruitment of self-financed graduates was based on a proposal submitted by the education ministry. 

Among the 33 self-financed graduates from PGDE, 29 have expressed their intent not to sit the upcoming civil service examination. 

In a bid to retain their expertise in the field of education, the ministry has opted to hire them as regular contract teachers (RCT).

On the other hand, the B.Ed category of 2023, whose civil service examination is scheduled for later this year, will be recruited as NCT with effect from August 15. Additionally, four graduates from the PGDE category, along with eight candidates from Samtse College of Education (SCE) who completed their studies in December 2022, will also be recruited as NCTs.

The appointment of RCT is for an initial period of two years, extendable based on performance and requirements in the specialised field or subject, while NCT will be appointed for a fixed term of 4 and a half months, as stated in the notification. 

The placements of these teachers in dzongkhags and thromdes will be based on merit ranking.

Acknowledging the increased attrition rate among teachers, the education ministry has introduced the recruitment of contract teachers as a key strategy to address the ongoing issue of teacher shortage in schools. 

Furthermore, the authority to recruit NCTs has been decentralised to respective dzongkhags as per their specific needs.

In a recent question-and-answer session in the National Council, Education Minister Jai Bir Rai said that the ministry currently faces a shortage of 842 teachers across various subjects. 

In response to this pressing challenge, the RCSC has also recently recruited 128 teachers who have completed their 18 months of training as regular teachers.

With these new opportunities for trained graduates in the education sector, the ministry aims to strengthen the teaching workforce and provide quality education to students across the nation.