Women’s quota for private teacher recruitment scrapped

The Ministry of Education has cancelled the quota for women in the recruitment of teachers in private schools and colleges under the MPO system.

Until now, it was mandatory to recruit women for 40 percent of the total teacher posts in private schools and colleges in urban areas and 20 percent of the total teacher posts in rural areas.

As a result, the organisation responsible for recommending appointments in private educational institutions - the Non-Governmental Teachers’ Registration and Certification (NTRC) - did not recommend male candidates for these posts specified under the quota. Now that requirement has been lifted.

In a notification published on Thursday, the Secondary and Higher Education Department (SHED) of the Ministry of Education announced the scrapping of the quota.

In a notification signed by Senior Secretary Siddique Zobair on May 15, it was stated that quotas for women for recommendations for vacant entry-level teaching posts in various private educational institutions would be removed.

However, the notification states that the qualifications and conditions for appointment as assistant teachers of physical education in private schools and physical education teachers in private colleges will remain unchanged in the MPO policy.

The SHED also said that the order to abolish the women's quota in the appointment of private teachers will be effective from the date of the notice’s signing.

Dipayan Das Shuvo, senior assistant secretary of the Private Secondary Branch of the SHED, told bdnews24.com: "Although a notification has been issued cancelling the quota for women for the appointment of private teachers, female candidates will receive appointment recommendations for the posts of assistant teachers of physical education in private girls' schools and physical education teachers in private women's colleges as per the previous conditions.”

The Pedagogy and Educational Standards Section of the NTRC is responsible for recommending candidates who passed the registration exam for appointments to private educational institutions.

Kazi Kamrul Ahsan, director and joint secretary of this section, told bdnews24.com: "A notification issued in 2021 had set a quota for female candidates in the appointment of private teachers. In this case, 40 percent of the total teacher posts in private educational institutions in city corporation or municipality areas and 20 percent of the total teacher posts in educational institutions in rural areas were set for female candidates.

"However, there was no quota for female candidates in the recruitment of teachers in private educational institutions in places other than the Haor region, remote areas, and the municipal areas in the three hill districts."