Women's Quota Abolished in Private Teacher Recruitment

The Ministry of Education has officially scrapped the women’s quota in the recruitment of teachers for private schools and colleges under the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) system.

Previously, the quota policy required that 40 percent of teaching positions in urban private educational institutions and 20 percent in rural areas be reserved for female candidates. As a result, the Non-Governmental Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRC), which is responsible for recommending teacher appointments, excluded male candidates from these reserved posts. That restriction has now been lifted.

In a notification issued on May 15 and signed by Senior Secretary Siddique Zobair, the Secondary and Higher Education Department (SHED) announced the cancellation of the women’s quota for entry-level teaching appointments in private institutions. The change takes immediate effect.

However, the SHED clarified that existing recruitment conditions for physical education teachers in private girls’ schools and women’s colleges will remain unchanged under current MPO guidelines.

Dipayan Das Shuvo, senior assistant secretary of SHED’s Private Secondary Branch, explained that while the general women’s quota has been abolished, female candidates will still be recommended for physical education teaching roles in institutions designated for women, according to previous policy.

NTRC Director and Joint Secretary Kazi Kamrul Ahsan noted that the now-repealed quota policy, introduced in 2021, had applied to private educational institutions in city corporations, municipalities, and rural areas, but not to schools in haor regions, remote areas, or municipalities in the three hill districts.