CNSC Docente

Overview

The teacher merit competition (concurso de méritos docente) is the only way to enter a permanent teaching or school-leadership post in Colombia's state schools. It is governed by the Estatuto de Profesionalización Docente (Decreto Ley 1278 of 2002). Applicants are judged on their aptitudes, experience, basic competencies, interpersonal relations and personality, and those who pass are placed in a ranked list of eligible candidates (listado de elegibles) that is used to fill vacancies.

Since Constitutional Court ruling C-175 of 2006, the National Civil Service Commission (CNSC) administers and oversees the teaching career. The Ministry of Education regulates the competitions, and the certified territorial entities (departments, districts and larger municipalities) hold the vacancies. Each competition has its own call (convocatoria) that sets posts, dates, tests and weights, so always read the call you apply to.

Who can apply

To enter state education you need one of the following, and then you must pass the competition:

• A degree as licenciado or another professional degree from a recognised higher education institution.

• A title of normalista superior.

You must teach at the level and in the subject area of your training. Normalistas superiores from an authorised restructured escuela normal superior may teach pre-school and primary only.

School leadership posts have extra requirements:

• Director of a rural pre-school and primary school: a normalista, licenciado or professional degree and four years of professional experience.

• Coordinador: a licenciado or professional degree and five years of professional experience.

• Rector: a licenciado or professional degree and six years of professional experience.

Stages

The decree sets these stages for an open competition:

1. Call (convocatoria).

2. Registration and submission of documents.

3. Verification of requirements and publication of those admitted to the tests.

4. Test of aptitudes and basic competencies, which selects the candidates who go into the eligible list.

5. Publication of the results of that test.

6. Psychotechnical test, interview and assessment of background (valoración de antecedentes).

7. Classification, which ranks each candidate by merit for their post type, level and subject area. For leadership posts, postgraduate degrees related to the job and extra experience are scored.

8. Publication of results.

9. Eligible list by education level and subject area, in descending order of score.

The Ministry's own description orders the process slightly differently: tests first, then document checks and an invitation to interview. The exact order and weights come from each call.

After the exam

• Appointment. When a vacancy opens, the post goes to the first person on the list. The next candidate is appointed only if the first one declines, in strict order of score, and anyone who refuses is removed from the list.

• List validity. Eligible lists last two years from publication.

• Probation. The selected candidate is appointed on probation until the end of the school year in which they were appointed, as long as they worked at least four months. At the end there is an evaluation of job performance and competencies. A satisfactory result gives career rights and entry into the Escalafón Docente. Candidates who fail are removed from service and may enter a later competition.

• Non-teaching degrees. Professionals who are not licenciados must show by the end of probation that they are studying or have finished a postgraduate degree in education or a pedagogy programme at a higher education institution.

• Public hearings. When several posts must be filled from one list, candidates choose their school at a public hearing (audiencia pública) held by the territorial education secretariat.

Special competitions

Separate decrees cover the selection of ethnoeducators for Afro-Colombian and raizal communities (Decretos 3323 of 2005 and 140 of 2006). Decreto 3982 of 2006 sets the general procedure for the majority population.