Thinley Namgay  

With the preliminary examination (PE) fixed for November 8, university graduates are resorting to online coaching classes to prepare for the first hurdle where 50 percent of the graduates vying to sit for the Royal Civil Service Commission examinations will be screened out.

Gatherings are not allowed and both graduates and those coaching graduates have resorted to the online classes.

Tshewang Choden, a recent graduate with B.A Mass Communication from the Symbiosis Centre for Media and Communication at Maharashtra, India, said that she was attending online PE coaching under the initiative of Druk Infinity Consulting based in Thimphu. She is paying Nu 1,000 in coaching fees.

“I stay in Mongar due to which I am unable to attend physical classes in the capital. There aren’t any tuition classes going on in Mongar.  The online PE classes helped me,” said Tshewang Choden.

Druk Infinity coaching classes began on September 14 and will go on until October 25.

Tshewang Choden said that she would prefer physical classroom over online classes, but said that online class has its own advantage. “Videos, notes and quizzes are shared through online platforms which I can always refer when in doubt.”

Druk Infinity provides 10 lectures or explainer videos on basic ideas of PE, more than 400 past PE questions (2014-2018) for problem solving and data interpretation along with solutions, more than 200 questions for English vocabulary, comprehensive notes for Dzongkha and one free guidebook.

Live classes are scheduled every Tuesdays and Thursdays to solve doubts via Zoom and Facebook. At the end of the coaching period, one complete practice online exam will be conducted, where it will be graded immediately.

A B.A History and Dzongkha graduate from Sherubtse College, Dawa Dolma Moktan, said that she also took part in the online PE coaching, which a Gedu College lecturer  organised.  More than 300 graduates took part in it.

“We discuss questions related to problem solving and data interpretation. It was worth participating,” said Dawa Dolma Moktan.

Meanwhile, some Facebook pages are also created to discuss the PE and main exam and engage the graduates. Currently, Facebook page such as Let’s Discuss PE, Bhutan Preliminary Examination, and BCSE exam discussion (PE and main exam) are the most active pages sharing questions online where followers answer questions in the comment section.

The PE is an initiative of the RCSC to test the competency of graduates in the field of English, Dzongkha, problem solving and data interpretation.