MPO teachers, school heads now eligible for transfer under revised policy

Education authorities expand transfer scope to include principals and vice-principals

The Ministry of Education has reissued its policy allowing transfers for teachers of non-government MPO-enrolled schools and colleges, this time extending the facility to heads of institutions and assistant heads.

Under the revised guidelines issued on Wednesday by the Secondary and Higher Education Division, assistant teachers, lecturers, assistant professors, principals, vice-principals, demonstrators, and trade instructors will now be eligible to transfer to equivalent posts in similar institutions.

This marks the fourth version of the transfer policy for MPO-covered schools and colleges.

Previous versions did not fully extend transfer opportunities to all categories of teachers and administrators.

According to the new framework, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education will publish vacancy lists online.

Applications for transfers will be invited against those vacancies, and the entire process -- including application, approval and joining -- will be completed annually within a fixed timeframe through official notifications.

The ministry said transfers will be allowed subject to the availability of equivalent posts, ensuring movement between similar positions such as institution heads, assistant heads and subject-based teaching roles.

The first transfer policy was introduced on Aug 1, 2024, allowing transfers on the basis of mutual consent.

However, due to the restrictive condition, most teachers were excluded, prompting criticism.

The condition was later relaxed on Dec 19, 2024, enabling teachers recommended by the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) to apply.

Yet teachers appointed before 2015 through the governing body recommendations were left out, leading to legal challenges.

A further revision on Jan 27 this year extended transfer rights to all school and college teachers.

The latest amendment is the most comprehensive version so far.

The ministry said the new policy will take immediate effect, while all previous policies will be revoked.

At present, NTRCA recommends subject-based candidates for MPO institutions.

Since 2016, it has been collecting vacancy data and recommending successful candidates from its teacher registration examinations.

Before that, until 2015, recruitment was managed by governing bodies or managing committees.