More Graduates, Limited Vacancies.

Bhutan being a young country with more than 60% of the population being youths between the ages of 10 and 29 years, it is high time that the nation prepares to provide a secure place for the youths and adolescents in the society. They being the future citizens are the jewel of the nation and to have a jewel that is worth appreciating is the aspiration of our fore generations. The government has made every possible attempt to attain 100% enrolment by making primary education compulsory for every child thus providing a base for securing the future of the youths. The parents too realized the importance of education so they try to give the best education to their children and the children, with wide range of dreams endeavor to complete a minimum qualification of Bachelors Degree. This indeed is a stirring move for the young country, but for the graduates, their move is not yet over.

With the number of university graduates increasing at a high rate each year and the vacancies in civil service remaining low, the once so aspiring youths are to face the future, which they anticipated to be a colorful one in a doomed and often chaotic state. As per the press release from the Royal Civil Service Commission, a total of 2,623 university graduates e-registered for Bhutan Civil Service Examinations (BCSE 2012), with an annual increase in graduate registration of approximately 42% over the previous year, which saw only 1856.  The RCSC has declared 597 vacancies in Civil Service for successful BSCE 2012 graduates, which is an increase by 32% compared to 451 vacancies of 2011.

Looking into the above data, though there is certain percentage increase in the vacancies this year, the increase is not proportionate to that of the increase in number of graduates. Simply speaking, the graduate to vacancy ratio is approximately 4.5:1, but in reality, there is uneven competition as the vacancies are differentiated into technical category and general category including teaching. Of the total vacancies, 279 falls under technical category that have almost equal ratio of graduates to vacancies in many specializations except for BCA, Engineering and few other specializations. Of the 713 technical graduates registered, 300 are IT graduates which have only 7 vacancies. 255 vacancies are exclusively for teaching fraternity, which as of today is a least preferred option. Therefore, approximately 1655 university graduates have to compete for 72 seats in general category. This ratio is without considering the result of the Preliminary Examinations, which will happen on 11^th August 2012.

Even with the best pursuit, some 2026 graduates will have no options but to look beyond the civil service at the end of the year. Of this, a large proportion will consists of graduates who have pursued undergraduate programme in general subjects, who will have to fight in the local job market like corporations, private firms, NGOs, etc.., so the competition for a better job will be tougher for the graduates in general and general graduates in specific. Considering some 1000 graduates get absorbed in various above mentioned local job markets and few venturing into entrepreneurship setups and business enterprises, there is going to be a deficit of still 1000 jobs. Farming, though it is a backbone for the nation’s self-sufficiency in food production, it will no more remain as a preferential occupation for the university graduates, so where should the remaining graduates go?

With a clear conscience and unwavering focus, there will be always a way, so what is important is to keep the hopes alive and will determined. It is vital that we aim for the better opportunities, but it is never a worst idea to take up the small jobs that comes our way as the Buddhist saying goes, “The task so mighty is accomplished through slow but continued pace and not with pride and ferocity. It is the small stream that flows calmly which covers a thousand miles and not the aggressive oceanic wave.”

For now, Best Wishes to All the University Graduates who are writing the BCSE 2012.