The Education Ministry has submitted a written proposal to education organisations setting out changes to the teacher appointments system, following a meeting earlier on Tuesday at the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth.
The updated proposal seeks to address two issues that have fuelled debate over teacher appointments in recent months: what the ministry identifies as shortcomings in the current written examination system and the need to ensure that enough teachers areavailable to staff schools from 1 September 2027.
Written exams to lose pass mark
One of the main proposed changes is the abolition of the pass mark for the written examination.
Instead, the examination would operate as a ranking exercise, with the result continuing to account for up to 50% of the points used to compile the Appointed Teachers Lists.
The ministry also proposes maintaining the comparability of examination results with those from previous examination periods until 2033. Each new examination result would remain valid for six years, or until 2036, whichever comes first.
From 2036, the comparability between old and new examination scores would be permanently abolished.
Examinations would be held every three years, while the ministry is also proposing a review of how examination papers are prepared, including their structure, format and levels of difficulty.
Specific changes would also apply to certain specialisms, including philologists, whose candidates currently sit examinations covering several individual subject areas.
Teachers already included on the Appointed Teachers Lists would be able to sit the examination again in order to improve their ranking. If they achieved a lower score, however, their existing result would be retained if it provided the higher number of points.
Closed register proposed for emergency staffing
The second major element of the proposal is the creation of a closed register for each specialism to cover emergency staffing needs, including contracts and substituteappointments.
The register would include teachers who are serving on contract at the start of the2027-28 school year, those serving on contract during the 2026-27 school year, and those who served on contract during the 2025-26 school year.
For teachers who do not fall into any of these categories, the proposal states that they must have accumulated at least 24 months of teaching service through substituteappointments in public schools over the previous five years by 31 August 2027.
The 24-month requirement is now explicitly included in the written proposal, followingreactions to the provision when it was presented verbally to education organisations.
Contracts and substitutions to be split 50-50
The proposal also clarifies the new 50-50 system, which would apply exclusively toemergency staffing needs rather than to teacher appointments as a whole.
Under the proposal, contracts and substitute positions would be filled equally, with 50% coming from the closed register and 50% from the Appointed Teachers Lists.
Once the closed register has been exhausted, 100% of emergency staffing needs would be covered through the relevant Appointed Teachers List.
The register would be considered an emergency mechanism and would remain in place until it is exhausted.
A teacher would be removed from the register if they rejected a contract or substituteappointment lasting more than three months, became an indefinite-term employee, or were offered a permanent appointment on probation.
Permanent appointments remain tied to examination lists
The issue remains the main point of disagreement between the ministry and education organisations.
Under the proposal, indefinite-term and contract teachers would only be able to secure permanent positions through the Appointed Teachers Lists. The ministry cites relevant case law, arguing that their automatic conversion to permanent status would not belawful.
Their previous teaching experience would nevertheless be recognised and awardedpoints, strengthening their position in the ranking process and, according to theministry, increasing their chances of securing a permanent appointment.
Indefinite-term teachers would also continue to be placed in schools as a priority beforecontracts are offered to other teachers.
Based on current data, the ministry estimates that all indefinite-term teachers would continue to be employed under the proposed system.
