Education Ministry Restores Teacher Recruitment Power to Managing Committees, Limits NTRCA to Certification

In a major policy overhaul, the Ministry of Education has decided to return the authority for entry-level teacher recruitment in private schools and colleges to institutional managing committees, effectively stripping the Non-Government Teachers' Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) of its power to recommend candidate placements.

The definitive decision was finalized during a comprehensive high-level review meeting regarding NTRCA's operational framework, held on August 3 at the Ministry of Education conference room. Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister Dr. ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon chaired the session, which was attended by Secondary and Higher Education Division Secretary Abdul Khaleq, NTRCA Chairman (In-Charge) Alif Rudaba, and other key ministry officials.

According to the official meeting minutes, the NTRCA Chairman noted that under the Private Teachers' Registration and Certification Authority Act of 2005 and its 2006 rules, the agency's original statutory mandate is to evaluate candidate qualifications and issue certification at least once per calendar year. While preparations for the 19th NTRCA registration examination are required following the last recruitment circular published in 2023, meeting resolutions dictate that starting from the upcoming 19th registration cycle, institutional recruitment will be executed directly through school and college managing committees. Necessary legal frameworks and rules will be amended to facilitate the transition.

Reflecting on the historical administrative shift, Education Minister Dr. Milon pointed out that from 2005 until late 2015, NTRCA functioned strictly as a registration and certification body. The agency's expansion into direct recruitment recommendations in December 2015 introduced systemic complications, numerous legal disputes, and operational deadlocks.

"To resolve the current stagnation at NTRCA and ensure an effective educational management system, the agency will revert to its original role of conducting registration and certification only, while candidate selection and recruitment will be managed through the respective managing committees or governing bodies of educational institutions."

The meeting further resolved that the 9,842 candidates who successfully passed the 18th teacher registration examinations will independently secure appointments through institutional managing or governing bodies, requiring necessary revisions to existing government circulars and notifications.

Established in 2005, NTRCA spent its first decade exclusively administering registration examinations and issuing certificates. On December 30, 2015, the agency shifted to recommending registered candidates for direct institutional placement, ultimately processing recommendations for 177,571 teachers over the years prior to the current policy reversal.