matCHER

Opportunity — The Problem

Singaporean teachers are among the hardest-working educators globally, with an average working time of 47.3 hours per week, around 15% higher than the OECD average.

When a full-time teacher goes on extended leave (maternity, long-term medical, reservist duties), the school must find a qualified relief teacher to take over their classes. Today, schools rely on word-of-mouth, Telegram groups, and cold-calling to source candidates. These channels are unstructured, hard to search, and often contain outdated information. Schools put the word out and wait, with minimal to no visibility on who's available until someone happens to respond.

From our interviews, finding a suitable relief teacher can take anywhere from one week to two months, especially for niche subjects. When a match isn't found in time, full-time teachers step in absorbing an additional 13–16 hours of teaching on top of their existing load. Over time, this compounds the risk of fatigue, reduced teaching quality, and burnout.

Objective

matCHER aims to streamline the sourcing and matching process, helping schools connect with suitable relief teachers more easily. We hope to ease the load on full-time teachers, while ensuring students still get the education they need.

Goal

North Star: Overall reduction in the number of classes that full‑time teachers have to cover on top of their regular timetable.

We are tracking two proxy metrics to gauge whether we're heading in the right direction:

• Number of roles filled via matCHER

• Reduction of time needed to hire a relief / adjunct teacher.

Velocity — Our Solution

MatCHER is a Telegram-based matching tool, complemented by a lightweight web application, that helps schools find relief teachers faster, and helps teachers find suitable roles. Based on our research on existing tools, we’ve identified 3 key problems which we addressed when building our solution.

Problem 1: One-way Notice Board

Schools post vacancies on multiple one-way platforms and wait. They currently have no way of quickly finding suitable teachers to contact.

Feature: Real-Time Two-Way Matching

• Instant notifications when new matches are found - schools and teachers are alerted instantly

• Two-way platform surfaces opportunities to both parties, not just one direction

• No more manual searching or checking back repeatedly.

Problem 2: Outdated Information

Profiles and postings go stale. Schools waste time contacting teachers who are not available; teachers apply to filled positions.

Feature: Active Status Management

• Regular prompts remind users to update their availability and posting status

• Profiles and postings stay current, reducing dead-ends for everyone.

Problem 3: Scattered, Informal Channels

Finding relief teachers relies on word-of-mouth, cold-calling, and scouring both official and unofficial Telegram groups. It's time-consuming and inconsistent.

Feature: Structured Data for Better Matching

• Works through Telegram where teachers and schools already are

• Replaces manual group searching with automated, relevant matches delivered to your DM, as well as a web interface for custom filtering to better cater to school's requirements

• Structured matching without the friction of adopting a new platform.

How it works

1. Create a profile:

   1. Schools submit a form with their relief requirements

   2. Teachers submit a form with their experience and availability.

2. Get matched:

   1. Schools receive a list of suitable teachers based on their requirements

   2. Teachers receive a list of suitable opportunities based on their profile.

3. Connect directly: Both sides can contact each other via Telegram, email, or phone to discuss next steps (e.g. schedule interview).

4. Get notified: Whenever a new teacher or job opportunity is added, the relevant side will receive a notification with the details.

matCHER webapp screen 2

matCHER webapp screen 3

Demo

Traction

In the past month, we’ve tested matCHER with 4 schools and 3 teachers to check for usability, relevance, and perceived value for both parties.

Early feedback indicated that the product is helpful for both schools and teachers to identify suitable applicants and opportunities. Users highlighted that receiving curated matches directly reduced the time needed to manually sift through multiple Telegram messages or cold call existing contacts one by one.

Participants also appreciated that matCHER fits naturally into Telegram which they are familiar with, instead of requiring them to learn or switch to a new system.

While we have yet onboarded real users, user testing revealed positive early signals: participants shared that matCHER’s usefulness would increase significantly with broader adoption across schools and teachers.

In parallel, we have begun early conversations with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to explore potential synergies, and they have expressed initial interest in the product.

We hope matCHER can grow while staying true to what it's here for: filling coverage gaps without stretching full-time teachers further, supporting their wellbeing, and keeping things steady for students. That's the part we'd love to play.

Big thanks

To the schools and teachers who gave us their time, tested our product, and shared their experiences - thank you. We've come away with a deeper appreciation for the work that happens in and outside the classroom.