Thimphu, June 20 (FN Agency) The Bhutan government will hire at least 100 teachers from India in July to address the shortages of STEM teachers in the country, as per a report in local media. Education and Skill Development Minister Yeezang De Thapa shared this information on the government’s strategy to address the STEM (an umbrella term used to group together Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects) teacher shortage, Kuensel newspaper reported Wednesday. According to the minister, the government will hire 35 Mathematics teachers, 18 Physics teachers, 19 Chemistry teachers, and 28 ICT expatriate teachers in July, the national newspaper said in the report.
The report said as of June, there is an “immediate” shortage of 135 STEM teachers in Bhutanese schools, including 46 in Mathematics, 38 in ICT, 22 in Physics, and 29 in Chemistry. According to the minister, there was a shortage of 1,263 teachers in 2023. A total of 187 B.Ed teachers were recruited in January, reducing the shortage to 1,076. From March to June, 646 contract teachers were hired, bringing the teacher shortage to 430. However, 247 teachers resigned recently, increasing the shortage to 677 again. The minister added that by July, with 121 new PGDE and 100 expatriate teachers, the shortage will be reduced to 456. The timing of professional development programmes have been criticised that disrupts teaching sessions.