Bhubaneswar: Teachers will shortly have to appear for a competitive examination to land a job in government schools.

At a review meeting chaired by chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, it was decided that teachers would be selected through a competitive written examination and an interview.

"Earlier, the teachers used to be recruited on the basis of the marks they had secured. Most of the states have introduced competitive examinations for recruitment of teachers and we should follow the same process. It will ensure better quality of teachers," said school and mass education secretary Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra.

The recruitment of postgraduate teachers (PGT) for Plus Two colleges will be conducted by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC), while secondary-level teachers' will be recruited by the Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSC).

A slew of reforms will also be taken up in the school and mass education department shortly. Odisha will work with NITI Aayog to bring about transformation in the education sector in the state under the SATH programme.

A deal was inked between NITI Aayog and the state government recently to chart a roadmap of critical interventions, programme governance structure, monitoring and tracking mechanism for the state to achieve objectives of quality education.

It has also been decided that there will be three directorates - the Directorate of Elementary Education (to deal with education from classes I to VIII), Directorate of Secondary Education (classes IX and X) and Directorate of Higher Secondary Education (classes XI and XII).

Primary, upper primary and high schools within a distance of 100 metres that are running as separate entities will be merged and one headmaster will be appointed for classes I to X.

"The transfer of primary school and secondary school teachers will be held online to ensure that there remains no chance of manipulation," said Mohapatra.