The government's advisory committee on primary education reform has proposed a new system for teacher recruitment.

The proposed system includes preparing a waiting list based on projected vacancies at the upazila-level schools. Teachers would be appointed from the waiting list as positions become available.

The committee also recommended that when teachers take extended leave -- such as for maternity or study purposes -- interim appointments could be made from the waiting list on a fully temporary basis, with full pay.

If no candidates from the waiting list are willing to take temporary positions in remote areas, local teachers could be hired with full pay, with relaxed educational qualifications.

Retired local teachers could also be considered for these roles, it said.

The committee, led by BRAC University's Emeritus Professor Manzoor Ahmed, made these recommendations in its detailed report presented to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus last Monday.

According to the Directorate of Primary Education, around two crore students are studying in 1,14,630 primary schools, including government, private, and Ebtedayee madrasas, across the country.

Of them, over one crore students are studying in 65,567 government-run schools.

At present, there are approximately 6,50,000 primary school teachers across both public and private institutions, including around 3,84,000 teachers against 4,27,000  positions in the government-run institutions.

The committee also proposed launching a "Primary Education Pre-Service Academic Programme" with an aim to ensure that candidates with relevant academic backgrounds are prioritised in the teacher recruitment process.

Initially, individuals holding degrees or diplomas under this programme would be given priority in recruitment, with a gradual transition towards making it mandatory, said the report.

The committee suggested the programme to be introduced in all Primary Teacher Training Institutes (PTIs). To implement this, it called for recruiting against all vacant positions in PTIs, creating new positions, and strengthening its institutional capacity.

Additionally, the report proposed forming a consortium of specialised education institutes from different universities, in collaboration with the National Academy for Primary Education (NAPE), to enhance the capacities of PTIs.

The report also said, "To properly fulfill the responsibility of academic supervision in schools, the capacity of headteachers must be enhanced, and they should be given the necessary autonomy."

"Headteachers must be held accountable -- both individually and jointly with other teachers -- for children's learning and the overall development of the school," it added.

The report recommended establishing a "learning-focused accountability framework" for teachers and officials working in primary education, to ensure that all educators take responsibility for student learning outcomes and school improvement.

The report highlighted the need to reduce non-teaching workload of teachers so they can focus more on classroom activities and student development.

Stating that currently 80 percent of positions for Assistant Upazila/Thana Primary Education Officer and Assistant URC Instructor are reserved for divisional candidates, while 20 percent of positions are open to others, the report further recommended a 50-50 split between divisional and open positions.