KP Sharma
The Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) will prioritise teacher development and improvement in the 13th Five-Year Plan, according to Education Minister Lyonpo Yeezang De Thapa.
The plan already started with a robust recruitment process to ensure the ministry selects the best and most competitive candidates for teaching positions.
“We are opening seat availability earlier with the Royal University of Bhutan, so that talented individuals consider teaching as a career,” Lyonpo said.
The ministry also plans to provide extensive professional development opportunities for both regular and contract teachers, leveraging all available training programmes.
Lyonpo said that despite advancements in infrastructure, curriculum, or incentives, quality education was difficult to attain without capable and dedicated teachers. “The quality of education depends on the quality of teachers, and we are committed to improving teacher standards.”
The director of the Department of School Education (DSE), Tashi Namgyal, said that the B. Ed selection process has become increasingly rigorous in recent years, including the Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE).
“Last year, for about 300 seats, we received about 11,000 applicants,” he said.
The director said that the feedback from colleges indicates a need for huge improvement in the quality of candidates aspiring to become teachers.
“The initiative is a game changer and deliberately thought about since the quality of teachers determines the quality of education,” he said.
The director further mentioned the ministry’s focus on in-service training.
“There is so much focus on in-service training such as continuous capacity development training, especially in India and at the Royal Academy, where many Mathematics teachers are upgrading their skills,”
The ministry is also prioritising STEM education, with plans underway for the establishment of the first-ever dedicated STEM premium school.
“With such interventions in place, there should be improvement in the overall performance and quality of education in the due course of time,” the director said.
Further, he also dismissed allegations that the ministry deploys the best teachers to top-performing schools, clarifying that the ministry has no authority to deploy teachers to specific schools. “The teacher deployment depends on the teacher requirement exercise that is conducted through a software called the TRE tool, which is connected to the zhiyog recruitment system.”
Teachers are deployed, he added, based on school requirements identified through the TRE system, leaving no room for preferential selection of teachers for particular schools.
Tashi Namgyal also stated that once teachers are sent to the dzongkhags and thromdes, the responsibility of filling vacancies lies with them. “The ministry has no hands in it.”
He also urged people not to label some schools as “good schools” solely based on academic results, stating that there are combinations of multiple factors in it.
“When high-performing students from any part of the country are given the choice to select schools, they usually choose the already good-performing schools,” he added.
With experienced teachers already in these schools, followed by the joining of high-performing students and supportive school leadership, Tashi Namgyal said that the combination of such factors enables such schools to achieve better results.
NC’s recommendations for strengthening teaching profession
The National Council’s special committee for education, during the winter session, recommended granting full human resource management autonomy to the MoESD.
In its report, the Committee argued that MoESD, as the largest ministry, should independently manage teacher human resources, a responsibility currently overseen by the Royal Civil Service Commission.
The Committee stated that such autonomy would enable the ministry to implement policies aimed at improving teachers’ working environments, including better working spaces, attractive financial incentives, and access to modern teaching and learning facilities.
“Such a shift would also foster a more specialised, motivated, and stable teaching workforce, strengthening the overall education system,” the Committee stated.
On teacher recruitment and selection, the NC highlighted the existing perception in Bhutan that teaching is often seen as a fallback career, stating that many graduates pursue teacher training only after exhausting other career options.
“This perception stems from the fact that teachers are selected primarily based on their academic merit, without a strong emphasis on the unique skills and passion needed for effective teaching,” the report stated.
The Committee recommended launching targeted campaigns, offering competitive incentives, and focusing on the pivotal role of teachers in nation-building.
“By reshaping teaching as a respected and rewarding career path, Bhutan can ensure that its classrooms are led by dedicated professionals who view education as a first-choice vocation, ultimately strengthening the quality of education across the country,” the Committee said.