Will teachers with secondary specialized education who fail the autumn attestation be dismissed?

Question

I am a teacher with secondary specialized education. Our director warned me that I need to participate in the autumn certification, and if I don't score enough points there, I will be fired.

Are teachers with secondary specialized education only given one chance at the attestation?

Response

Starting from the 2025/2026 academic year, for the first time, certification processes for teachers without higher education will begin.

In it, pedagogical personnel without higher education involved in the certification test trials are not assigned qualification categories, while they must retain their positions.

That is, pedagogical personnel without higher education:

• 55 points and above - certified, retained position;

• If the indicator is less than 55 points - it is considered uncertified, unfit for the teaching position.

In the event that pedagogical personnel without higher education fail to pass the next mandatory certification, the employer has the right to terminate the employment contract with the employee due to insufficient qualifications in the manner prescribed by labor legislation.

That is, in this situation, the dismissal or dismissal of a teacher with secondary specialized education is at the discretion of the school principal, and during the first certification process, the director decides whether or not to retain their position.

If the school director has not terminated the employment contract, a pedagogical staff without higher education who has not passed the next mandatory certification is involved in the extraordinary certification no more than twice in a row.

In this case, the employment contract with a pedagogical personnel who did not pass the extraordinary certification at least twice or did not participate in the certification without a valid reason (during the period of incapacity for work due to illness and in cases other than the performance of state or public duties) is terminated due to insufficient qualifications of the employee in the manner prescribed by labor legislation.

The head of the educational organization in which the pedagogical personnel are engaged is personally responsible for involving pedagogical personnel without higher education, who have not passed the certification, in the extraordinary certification twice in a row.

In the event of termination of the employment contract of a teacher due to failure to pass certification (due to insufficient qualifications of the employee) in the manner prescribed by labor legislation, the pedagogical staff may be hired again as a teacher only if they take an extraordinary professional certification test at their own request and receive a certificate.