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It is not common for a country’s prime minister to highlight worrying trends in his state of the nation report. This is the first report from the newly elected government that took over a few months ago. The concerns highlighted are worrisome, if not new trends.
The State of the Nation Report usually highlights the government’s achievements, plans and programmes. It gives the voters (people) confidence and charts the way forward for the country, even if it is only for the next five years.
Sharing the concerns of nearly 9% of the population who have emigrated to study, work and live abroad, Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay drew attention to a worrying issue. According to Lyonchhen, this is the most pressing issue. About 64,000 Bhutanese have emigrated abroad.
This is nothing new. We knew that Bhutanese were leaving in search of better opportunities. This happened soon after the COVID-19 outbreak. While developed countries offer opportunities, we have no plans or measures to stop migration. Many believe that this has opened a window for unemployed educated Bhutanese and helped ease the rising unemployment pressure. Even before the pandemic, Bhutan had explored several overseas job opportunities due to the inability of successive governments to create jobs.
We have long recognised that migration trends have an impact. We have seen hundreds of educated, trained and skilled people drop out of the workforce. We know that casual work in Australia could easily attract Bhutanese health or education experts to live and work here.
What we have done to stop this trend is a big question. Skilled people in all key sectors are happy to leave. Better future opportunities become the deciding factor. They do not hesitate about what kind of job they take up. All this is happening at a time when Bhutan has big plans and aspires to become a developed country. The unprecedented outflow of human resources, in our case educated, trained and skilled brain drain can jeopardize our vision.
We have diagnosed the problem. We need to treat it. Many agree that the health and education sectors are key sectors. One is a matter of health, life and death, the other is a matter of the future of the country. Yet interventions are bogged down in bureaucratic processes.
Doctors, nurses, technicians have better prospects of living and working abroad and they are sure that if they were Bhutanese, the government would not give them incentives. This is a blatant mockery of the remuneration of expatriates, some of whom, according to health officials, are not as skilled as the doctors we have here.
Many people blame the system, which means it is impossible to get rid of the civil servant mentality. The health and education departments or doctors and teachers should not be civil servants. They should be paid according to work efficiency and professional skills.
The ball is in the government’s court. Knowing the threat, what mitigation measures could stem the tide of migration? It is not difficult. If we can identify key services or service providers, they should be retained. We all agree that money is a factor. Industry insiders say a salary increase of 10,000 Ngultrum for doctors, nurses, technicians or teachers could encourage them to stay.
If we want to improve our services, we have to recognise those who provide them. Besides their livelihoods, the future of our children and the health of our people are at stake. We have long-term plans. But the need is urgent.
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