Bulk Teacher Import

Import your entire teaching staff in minutes. This guide covers every step of the 6-step wizard — from downloading the template to reviewing results — including required fields, employment types, qualification codes, and common fixes for import errors.

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Before You Start

What you'll need

• Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice Calc
• Teacher data ready — full name, email, gender, employment type, hire date, and highest qualification at minimum
• Permission — your account must have the Teachers › Create permission. Contact your administrator if the Teachers tab is locked.
• School selected — verify the correct school is active in the top navigation bar.

Supported file formats

Format	Extension	Notes
CSV (comma-separated)	.csv	Universal; works in any spreadsheet app
Excel workbook	.xlsx	Recommended; includes dropdown validation
Legacy Excel	.xls	Supported but .xlsx preferred

Maximum file size

Files larger than 10 MB are rejected. For large schools, split the import into batches of 200–500 rows.

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How to Open the Import Wizard

1. In the left sidebar, click People.
2. Click Import in the People sub-menu.
3. Click the Teachers tab.

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Step 1 — Upload

Option A: Download the template (recommended)

Click Download Template to receive a pre-formatted Excel file.

The template contains:

• Sheet 1 – Data: colour-coded headers (blue = required, grey = optional), format hint row, and three sample teacher rows.
• Sheet 2 – Field Reference: full column descriptions, accepted values, and dropdown validations for gender, employmentType, and highestQualification.

Option B: Upload your existing spreadsheet

Drag and drop your file onto the upload zone, or click Browse files.

Column name matching

Column names are matched case-insensitively. EmploymentType, employmenttype, and employment_type are all recognised as the same field.

Required columns

These seven columns must be present or the upload will be rejected:

Column	Description	Example
firstName	Teacher's first name	Chiedza
lastName	Teacher's surname	Gumbo
email	Work email address	c.gumbo@rufaro.ac.zw
gender	Gender	female
employmentType	Type of employment contract	full_time
hireDate	Date employment began	2022-01-10
highestQualification	Highest academic credential	bachelor

Employment type values

Value	Meaning
full_time	Permanent full-time teacher
part_time	Part-time teaching hours
contract	Fixed-term contract
temporary	Short-term / relief teacher
substitute	Day-by-day relief cover

Qualification code values

Value	Meaning
certificate	Teaching certificate (e.g. ZINTEC)
diploma	Teaching diploma
bachelor	Bachelor's degree (e.g. B.Ed)
bachelor_honours	Honours degree
master	Master's degree
phd	Doctorate
professional_certificate	Professional body certification

Wrong qualification code

If you enter Bachelor of Education or B.Ed, the row will fail validation. You must use the exact code: bachelor. Refer to the Field Reference sheet in the downloaded template for the complete list.

Accepted date formats

Input format	Example
ISO 8601	2022-01-10 (preferred)
Day/Month/Year	10/01/2022
Month-Day-Year	01-10-2022
Excel serial date	44571 (auto-converted)

Click Next to proceed.

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Step 2 — Preview

Every teacher row appears in an editable table. Red-bordered rows have validation errors; white rows are ready to import.

Editing a cell

Click a cell to edit it. The editor adjusts to the field type:

• Employment type / qualification — dropdown with accepted codes
• Date fields — date picker
• Subjects — comma-separated text (e.g. Mathematics, Physics)
• Name / email / phone — plain text

Error panel

Click the red badge on an errored row to see exactly which fields fail and why.

Skip invalid rows

Enable Skip invalid rows at the top of the table to exclude problem rows and import the rest. Failed rows can be corrected and re-imported in a separate batch.

Click Next to proceed.

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Step 3 — Assign

Enrich each teacher's record before saving. This step is optional if your CSV already contains all necessary fields.

Subjects & class teaching loads

Use the combobox to select subjects the teacher is qualified to teach. You can also pre-assign specific class divisions.

Field	Description
Subjects	Multi-select from subjects configured in Academics
Class Assignments	Specific class divisions this teacher will teach

Subjects must exist first

Subjects must be created in Academics → Subject Management before they appear in the combobox. If you don't see a subject, set it up in Academics and return to this import.

Qualifications

Add formal qualifications beyond the CSV highestQualification field:

Field	Description
Qualification name	e.g. B.Ed Science Education
Institution	University or college name
Year obtained	Four-digit year
Certificate number	Awarding body reference

Profile extras

Field	Description
Title	Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Prof.
Preferred name	Goes by a different name
Department	e.g. Sciences, Languages
Office / room	Teacher's base classroom

Tags & notes

Attach free-form tags (e.g. new-hire-2026, hod-candidate) and optional internal notes visible only to administrators.

Click Next to proceed.

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Step 4 — Options

Global settings for this import batch.

Option	Default	What it does
Send Portal Invitation Emails	Off	Sends welcome emails with login links to each teacher's email address immediately after import.
Assign Default Teacher Role	On	Automatically assigns the school's default Teacher role to every imported account.
Stop on First Error	Off	If any teacher record fails, the entire batch is cancelled. Leave off for partial success.

When to use "Stop on First Error"

Enable this only if you need guaranteed all-or-nothing atomicity — for example, when re-importing a corrected batch where you have already verified every row is valid.

Click Import to begin.

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Step 5 — Import (Processing)

A progress bar tracks the batch in real time.

Background processing steps:

1. Teacher profiles are created.
2. IAM user accounts are created (if Assign Default Role is on).
3. Subject and class assignments from Step 3 are applied.
4. Invitation emails are queued (if enabled).

Keep the browser tab open

Leave the tab open while processing. The import runs on the server even if you close the tab, but you'll lose the live progress view.

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Step 6 — Results

After processing completes, see a full summary.

Success summary

Item	Meaning
Green banner	Teachers successfully created
Subject assignment badge	How many subject links were applied
Download results	Export CSV with per-row outcome

Error table

Column	Content
Row #	Position in your original file
Name	Teacher name
Error	What went wrong
Field	Which field caused it

After the import

• Click View Teachers to see the newly imported teachers.
• Click Start New Import for another batch.
• Fix failed rows in your spreadsheet and re-upload.

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Complete Field Reference

Required fields

Column	Format	Example
firstName	Text	Chiedza
lastName	Text	Gumbo
email	Valid email	c.gumbo@school.ac.zw
gender	male / female / other	female
employmentType	See table above	full_time
hireDate	YYYY-MM-DD	2022-01-10
highestQualification	See table above	bachelor

Personal details

Column	Format	Notes
phoneNumber	Phone number	+263772345678
dateOfBirth	YYYY-MM-DD	Optional
nationalId	Text	National ID number
address	Text	Street address
city	Text	e.g. Harare
province	Text	e.g. Harare Metropolitan
country	Text	Default Zimbabwe

Teaching profile

Column	Format	Notes
subjects	Comma-separated	e.g. Mathematics, Physics
qualifications	Comma-separated	Additional qualification names

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Common Errors & How to Fix Them

File errors

Error	Cause	Fix
Missing required columns: email	email column absent or misspelled	Add or rename the column
Missing required columns: employmentType	Column header doesn't match	Use employmentType exactly (camelCase)
File size exceeds 10 MB	File too large	Split into smaller batches

Row validation errors

Error	Cause	Fix
employmentType: invalid value	Value not in accepted list	Use one of: full_time, part_time, contract, temporary, substitute
highestQualification: invalid value	Wrong qualification code	Use: certificate, diploma, bachelor, bachelor_honours, master, phd, professional_certificate
email: invalid email address	Malformed email	Check for spaces, missing @, or double dots
hireDate: invalid date	Unrecognised date format	Use YYYY-MM-DD

Import errors (server-side)

Error	Cause	Fix
email already exists	Email linked to another account	Use a different email or check the existing account
schoolId not found	School context mismatch	Verify the correct school is selected

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I import teachers without an email address?

No. Email is a required field for teachers because it is the primary identifier for their portal account and the address used for notifications, timetables, and communications. If a teacher does not have an email address yet, create a temporary one (e.g. firstname.lastname@school.ac.zw) and update it later from their profile.

How do I specify that a teacher teaches multiple subjects?

In the CSV, set the subjects column to a comma-separated list: Mathematics, Physics. Alternatively, leave that column blank and use the Assign step (Step 3) to select subjects from the combobox after upload.

Can I import a teacher who is also a head of department?

Yes. Import the teacher record first. After the import, open the teacher's profile and assign the Head of Department role or flag from the profile page. The import wizard handles basic teacher records — HOD designation is managed separately.

The qualification dropdown only shows a few options. Where is my qualification type?

The qualification code list is fixed (see the table above). If a teacher has an unusual qualification, use the closest matching code for import and add a free-text note in the qualifications column or in the Notes section of Step 3.

What if I need to import substitute teachers for just one term?

Use employmentType: substitute or temporary. These employment types are fully supported and can be updated to full_time later if the teacher is made permanent.

How do I assign a teacher to a department?

Use the Assign step (Step 3) and set the Department field in the Profile section. You can also set it later from the teacher's profile page.

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Quick-Start Checklist

• Downloaded the Excel template from Step 1
• All seven required columns are present
• employmentType uses a valid code (full_time, part_time, contract, temporary, substitute)
• highestQualification uses a valid code (see table above)
• All hireDate values are in YYYY-MM-DD format
• All email addresses are valid and unique
• File is .csv or .xlsx and under 10 MB
• Preview step shows 0 errors (or Skip invalid rows is enabled)
• Subjects exist in Academics if you plan to assign them in Step 3
• Send Portal Invitation is set correctly for your rollout plan

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