The Private Teachers Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) recently announced a major shortfall in applications for teaching positions in private MPO educational institutions across the country. Despite having 96,736 vacancies, only 23,932 candidates have applied. This indicates that more than 73,000 teaching positions will remain unfilled.
Secretary of NTRCA, Obaidur Rahman, disclosed these figures on Monday, highlighting the significant gap. He mentioned that the final number of eligible candidates might be between 22,500 to 23,000 after scrutiny. The low number of applications is due to various reasons. Only candidates who passed the 16th and 17th teacher registration exams were eligible to apply. However, many candidates from the 16th registration have already secured positions through a previous recruitment round, and many from the 17th registration were ineligible due to age limits.
An official from NTRCA's examination evaluation and certification wing, explained that a recent rule change made registration certificates valid for three years. Consequently, many candidates under 35 years old could not apply, contributing to the low application numbers.
The recruitment notice, issued on March 31, aims to fill 43,286 posts in schools and colleges and 53,450 posts in madrasa and technical institutions. The application period, which began on April 17, will close on May 23. Preliminary recommendations for the applicants may be announced later this month.
This shortfall in applications presents a significant challenge for the education sector, potentially impacting the quality of education in many institutions across the country.
