A major change is coming to the teacher appointment process in Panama. Jaime Castillo, an advisor to the Ministry of Education (Meduca), announced the implementation of a new online platform for the selection and appointment of over 3,800 teachers for the 2026 school year. This initiative aims to bring justice to the teaching staff, who have been subjected to practices that undermined meritocracy and professional standards for years. The new system will be entirely digital, ensuring transparency and security in the process. Castillo emphasized that the platform «eliminates any possibility of manual intervention». The application period will be open from November 24 to December 2 on the official website. Teachers can apply for up to five positions. This is one of the largest competitions in recent years, responding to the urgent need to replace teachers who have retired in recent years, with approximately 40% of the teaching staff having retired. The highest demand is for elementary school teachers, preschool teachers, Spanish teachers, and science teachers.
