Bangladesh introduces exam-based NTRCA system to fill 78,000 teacher vacancies

Officials say a new merit-based model will directly link candidates to vacancies

Bangladesh is set to overhaul the way teachers are recruited to non-government educational institutions, replacing a longstanding two-step system with a new model that will directly match candidates to vacant posts through a single competitive process.

Under the revised system, recruitment to MPO-listed schools, colleges, madrasas and technical institutions will no longer involve shortlisting candidates separately after registration.

Instead, applicants will be selected and recommended for appointment directly based on their performance in a unified examination.

The Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) is preparing to begin the process for filling 77,799 vacant posts of assistant teachers, lecturers and instructors across the country.

NTRCA Chairman Md Aminul Islam said the recruitment and registration advertisement is expected to be published in early May.

“We will take the registration exam, and based on the results, candidates will be directly recommended against specific vacant posts,” he said on Tuesday.

Under the previous system, candidates up to 20 percent beyond vacant posts were registered, but the new framework will only qualify candidates equal to the number of available vacancies.

The new process, introduced under the 2025 Non-Government Teachers’ Registration Examination, Certification and Recruitment Rules issued in December 2025, will eliminate the earlier three-stage system of preliminary, written and viva examinations.

Instead, candidates will sit for a 200-mark MCQ-based written test followed by a 20-mark oral examination.

Those securing at least 40 percent separately in both written and viva will qualify for both certification and recruitment recommendation.

“This will be the first time recruitment will be done directly through written and oral examinations under a single advertisement, which will be known as the 9th NTRCA recruitment circular,” Aminul said.

According to NTRCA data, vacancy demands have already been collected from institutions nationwide.

After verification, the final circular will be sent for ministry approval before publication.

Officials expect it to be issued within 10–15 days of approval.

Now, there are 34,129 non-government institutions in the country, employing 598,994 teachers and 206,699 staff members.

Despite large-scale recruitment efforts, thousands of posts have remained vacant for years, contributing to a chronic teacher shortage across MPO institutions.

NTRCA last published a recruitment circular on Jan 5 and later recommended 11,713 candidates for appointment, leaving 55,495 posts unfilled due to a lack of eligible applicants.

Education authorities have at times relied on retired teachers to mitigate classroom shortages.

NTRCA Chairman Aminul Islam said the new system is expected to resolve longstanding shortages and eliminate complaints from candidates who pass registration but fail to secure appointments.

“Through this system, selection against vacant posts will be completed in a single step. Teacher shortages will be reduced significantly,” he said.

NTRCA has been issuing registration certificates since 2005 and was later given recruitment authority in 2015.

Since then, it has recommended 186,238 teachers through seven recruitment cycles.