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Binod Ghimire

The Kathmandu Post

Publication Date : 22-02-2013

Over half a million people have filed applications for permanent teaching positions across Nepal. On January 4, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) had invited applications for 13,135 vacant posts of school-level teachers for the first time in 17 years.

Thursday was the deadline for the applications invited from people between the ages of 18 and 40 with intermediate or bachelor's degrees in education. Joint Secretary at the TSC, Khagendra Nepal, said around 550,000 candidates have already applied at the District Education Offices in all the 75 districts of the country.

After feeling an acute shortage of permanent teachers, the Nepal government last November decided to call for open competition for 12,876 posts and later increased the number to 13,115 - 7,956 in the primary, 2,993 in lower secondary and 2,286 in the secondary level -after assessing the need. Though the Ministry of Education had been planning to hold an internal competition targeting only temporary teachers, the same could not materialise as a new Act forwarded as ordinance to the President’s office was rejected.

The government has not announced vacancies for teachers since 1995, resulting in a shortage of around 40,000 permanent teachers for around 38,000 schools from the primary to the secondary level across the country.

The TSC has scheduled the examinations for the primary, lower secondary and secondary levels on August 25, 26 and 27 respectively. According to Nepal, results of the written test will be announced in September, while interviews will be held by the first week of November.

“We are planning to publish the final results by mid-November,” he said. All the answer sheets will be coded before being dispatched for checking and decoded while publishing the results. Of the total positions, 45 percent are reserved for females, Madhesis, janajatis and other marginalised communities.

The government is working to get rid of temporary teachers by 2014 and will only initiate the recruitment process for permanent positions afterwards. Government data show that around 24,000 temporary teachers are working in public schools around Nepal.