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The non-government teachers’ authority is set to issue a circular within the next couple of days, inviting applications to fill nearly 100,000 teaching positions at MPO-listed Private educational institutions across the country.
The Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) said preparations for the sixth mass recruitment notice are in the final stages, with a final verification of vacant posts currently under way.
“The sixth mass circular for teacher recruitment will be issued in a day or two,” said Mohammad Nure Alam Siddique, acting chairman of NTRCA, on Sunday.
“We’ve received data on just over 101,000 vacancies, though this number may drop slightly due to inconsistencies in the information.”
The circular is expected to be published as early as Monday, he added. The recruitment notice was greenlighted during an NTRCA board meeting on Jun 4, reports bdnews24.com.
To be eligible for appointment as assistant teachers or lecturers in non-government institutions, candidates must pass the teacher registration examination, which includes preliminary, written, and oral stages.
According to a Supreme Court Appellate Division order, teacher registration certificates are valid for three years.
Applicants whose registration certificates remain valid will be allowed to apply online using the new circular. A fixed number of applications will be permitted per candidate, subject to payment of a fee.
NTRCA will recommend candidates for appointment based on the highest scores in the teacher registration examination for each post, using an automated selection system. Final appointments will follow police verification and the issuance of formal recommendations.
Candidates who passed the 17th and 18th registration exams will be eligible to apply under the sixth circular, provided they meet the age limit of 35 years, Siddique said. Candidates over the age limit will be ineligible even if their certificates remain valid.
On Sunday, groups of certified but unemployed teachers held rallies and sit-ins demanding a separate recruitment notice for earlier batches, especially those who passed the 1st to 17th registration exams.
Protesters from the 17th batch are seeking at least one opportunity to apply under a special circular in line with the court’s directive and have called for the suspension of the sixth circular until their demands are addressed.
For nearly a year, approximately 90,000 teaching posts at MPO-listed private institutions have remained vacant, causing strain in a sector that educates the majority of Bangladeshi students.
However, NTRCA officials warned that not all vacancies will be filled due to a shortage of eligible candidates in certain subjects.
“For some posts, like assistant teacher in fine arts, there are about 10,000 vacancies, but only a few hundred passed the 18th registration exam in that subject,” Siddique said.
“Most of those who passed earlier exams are already employed, so not all positions can be filled through this circular.”
Similar gaps are expected for positions such as assistant mawlana at madrasas and lecturers in physics and ICT at colleges, he added.
Bangladesh has 30,826 MPO-listed private institutions, including 17,634 schools, 2,868 colleges, 8,229 madrasas, and 2,222 technical institutes. NTRCA is responsible for recommending candidates for appointment to assistant teacher and lecturer positions in these institutions.