How to Choose Teacher Recruitment Agencies for Domestic & International Hiring

The right agency finds qualified teachers for your school, whether hiring domestically or internationally

If you run a school, you already know this, teacher vacancies never wait for the right time.

Let’s say your school urgently needs a qualified STEM teacher. 

You sign up with a “premium” teacher recruitment agency, convinced they’ll deliver. Weeks go by, and the CVs arrive—most without the right curriculum experience, a few asking for salaries far beyond your budget. The position stays open, students lose continuity, and the clock keeps ticking.

This kind of outcome isn’t rare. Schools choosing between agencies in India and potential partners specializing in overseas teacher recruitment often discover that promises don’t always match delivery. The wrong agency can drain budgets, frustrate staff, and disrupt learning.

The smarter path? Knowing how to evaluate teacher recruitment agencies for capability, transparency, and financial alignment—so you work with partners who can actually fill classrooms with the right teachers. 

To evaluate teacher recruitment agencies effectively, you first need to decide the kind of teachers you want to hire. There are specialized agencies for both domestic and international hiring. Here’s a quick overview of both:

Domestic agency must-haves:

If you’re looking to hire teachers domestically from within India, you're competing with government schools offering job security and corporate training institutes offering double the salary. 

Here’s an example. Your ideal math teacher prospect has three offers: 

• yours at $60,000, 
• a government position with pension benefits, or 
• private tuition agency at ₹1.2 lakhs. 

Then, there is this notion that Indian teachers are often expected to be multi-talented. Beyond the textbook—drama, debate, dance, music, arts & crafts are all part of their job. 

The agency that doesn't understand this dynamic will waste your time with candidates who'll never accept your offer.

International agency non-negotiables:

Hiring internationally involves a different level of complexity. Foreign teachers expect comprehensive support with not just visa processing, but 

• cultural orientation, 
• housing assistance, and 
• spouse employment help.

One of our partner schools ran into this recently. An overseas recruiter introduced six teachers, but after they learned about Mumbai’s monsoons and the expectation to stay back for after-school activities, several decided not to proceed.

This is why having an open discussion before recruitment helps prevent last-minute challenges with new teachers.

Layer 1: Proof of capability

Is your teacher recruitment agency based in India? Skip the sales pitch and directly ask specific questions like: 

"Show me the last five placements you made in schools like ours."

Don’t just depend on testimonials, as they may or may not be credible. In most cases, only two of seven agencies can show real examples—shortlist the ones who can show results.

For international agencies, the check is even simpler. Simply ask

"How many teachers have you successfully placed in Indian schools in the last 12 months?" 

Most overseas teacher recruitment services are UK-centric with a limited international range. It’s normal for international candidates to be in contract or considering other opportunities. 

Sharing availability, competing offers, and visa timelines early sets expectations and helps schools move decisively. Accordingly, the agency should disclose this information proactively and transparently.

‍Note: Attracting first-time international teachers to India is challenging due to the limited pool of such candidates. In such cases, give the agency the slight benefit of the doubt.

Layer 2: Process transparency

Quality agencies have nothing to hide. They'll walk you through their screening process step-by-step. Ask them to demonstrate their teacher assessment process live!

Often, schools ask agencies to role-play their screening call. Generally, most agencies ask generic questions about experience, hobbies, etc. 

But schools reaching out to us can expect a more detail-oriented process where we:

1. Ask candidates about their classroom management strategies
2. Ask how they handle parent communications in a non-native English environment
3. Assess the candidate’s subject knowledge

Notice the difference? 

No bureaucracy, but protection against hiring disasters.

Note:

Watch for agencies that mention following the Safer Recruitment Checklist established with the International Taskforce on Child Protection (ITFCP). These are usually more trustworthy.

Layer 3: Financial alignment

Here's what most schools miss: Cost per qualified application matters more than placement fees. 

An agency that charges 15% but provides pre-screened, committed candidates is more cost-effective than one that charges 10% but sends numerous unqualified applications.

Instead, if you spend 20 minutes reviewing each unqualified CV at a senior staff member's hourly rate of ₹5,000, those 50 useless applications cost you ₹83,000 in time alone.

Don’t know how to calculate the “true cost” of hiring a teacher?

Use this formula:

True Cost = Agency Fee + (Your Hours Wasted × ₹5,000) + (Vacancy Days × Daily Loss)

Example breakdown:

• Agency A: ₹2 lakhs fee, sends pre-screened candidates, 15-day placement
• Agency B: ₹1.2 lakhs fee, you screen everything, 45-day placement

Real cost difference: Agency A saves ₹1.8 lakhs when you factor in time and vacancy costs

For schools looking to onboard a hiring agency, here are some demo scenarios when you should start looking elsewhere:

Scenario 1: All talk, no show

When you ask an agency about their database, and they boast, "50,000 teachers ready to join!" That's not an actual vetted database. That's a mailing list. 

Scenario 2: Herd-mailing for lucky picks

If an agency can't answer, "What's your candidate show-up rate for interviews?" with a specific number, they're mass-mailing your requirements. Quality agencies maintain high show rates because they pre-confirm interest.

Scenario 3: Hefty advance, hidden trouble

If the agency asks for the full fee or more than 50% of the amount as "registration charges." Be it an overseas teacher recruitment or any agency from India, they should not charge you such amounts in advance.

At Suraasa, we’ve built our model after watching schools waste large sums on agencies treating teachers like inventory.

Our 550,000+ educator community across 50 countries isn't just a database. These are teachers actively developing their skills through our PgCTL certifications and professional development programs. They're invested in their growth, which means they're serious about their next move. 

Each of them teaches well (we've got the videos to prove it!) and has UK-accredited certifications. And most importantly, their region-specific expertise helps them easily fit into both regional and international curricula.

Have similar teaching positions to fill? Call us today to hire qualified teachers for your school.