DNT has
done it. They have successfully divided the civil servants who had jointly carried
them to victory during the election. They chose teachers and clinical staffs as
their favorites and now the people are upset. And why shouldn’t they be? Firstly,
let’s look at the left out civil servants who were not fortunate enough to come
under DNT’s limelight. Instead they were thrown limes at and provided with no
glasses whatsoever to at least, make some juice out of them.
Unless you’ve
been living under a rock, it’s well known that there are problems in the health
and education sectors. And the government are faced with the challenge to clear
through the hassle and move ahead. But I don’t think relying on monetary
incentives alone can solve this problem. Our quality of education has not
declined per se, what it actually suffers from is that it has not been able to
catch up with time and stay relevant.
Today a flagship
smartphone hardly stays relevant for half a year after it is released. Mobile
manufacturers are faced with the challenge to keep their products up to date
with the cutting-edge technologies that seem to proliferate like weeds in
summer after a hearty rainfall. And these technologies are not restricted to just
the western world, it has flourished across the world and in fact, we might be
at the brink of a great technological revolution. Unfortunately, Bhutan has not
yet incorporated programming lessons, which is the basic building block for all
the technological infrastructure, in its school curriculum.
So, the
step that the government has taken doesn’t really appeal to the ideals of a
rationalist. Massaging your back when it’s your neck that is stiff doesn’t make
much sense. Some might still argue that such lucrative increments will help reduce
the attrition in the teaching community or improve the education quality in
general by attracting brighter students into the profession. When they say
this, are they implying that the teachers so far, who if I’m not mistaken have
successfully produced batches of doctors, engineers, pilots, architects,
economists, etc., have been of inferior intellect. Do they mean that attrition
is unamendable because we don’t have any B.Ed graduates struggling in the job
market, in hunt for illusive jobs that so hard to get. Do they mean that Bhutan
has 100% employment rate and there just can’t be any replacement for those choosing
to leave their jobs?
Same is the
case in the health community. It is understandable to recognize these
professions as needing some incentives for the hard work they put in, but when you
see the scale of the pay hikes, the DNT government didn’t really think through.
In doing what they did, they undermined the efforts and sacrifices of the rest
of the civil servants who work just as hard with dedication for the country. After
the revision, an entry level teacher gets Nu. 10000 as an increment. An entry
level doctor or a dentist gets a hefty 65% professional allowance which if you
club with the pay hike amount to a whopping Nu. 15000 increment. What about the
rest of the civil servant? They just get a mere Nu. 4000 increment. And this is
just the scenario in the entry level fields. Think about the disparity that’s created
in the senior level positions. Oh no DNT, what have you done. In trying to
reduce the gap, you just created a new gapped area.
Then there
are private works who were not even thought of in the whole discussion. And what
about the rest of the people? Didn’t they vote as well? Is democracy only the
civil society’s freak show? Its inevitable that the heinous businessmen, shopkeepers
and restaurant owners will hike up the prices of their commodities and services
and the seemingly beneficial increments will have been white washed out of
existence. Only the teachers and doctors, and not to forget, the parliamentarians
will enjoy the savory taste of the pay hike.
