Teacher vacancies are putting Bangladesh’s government primary education system under growing pressure, with thousands of vacant posts forcing existing teachers to take additional classes and administrative responsibilities, disrupting classroom instruction and threatening education quality.

The shortage is forcing existing teachers to take additional classes, teach multiple subjects and perform administrative duties, putting extra pressure on them and affecting classroom instruction and the quality of education.

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon recently said 36,235 headteacher posts were vacant in the country’s 65,567 government primary schools.

The government says a long-running legal dispute over headteacher appointments has now been resolved and recruitment will begin soon. It also says the assistant-teacher shortage has been largely addressed, with more than 14,000 newly recruited teachers expected to join schools after completing training.

At West Nangla Government Primary School in Madarganj upazila of Jamalpur, five teaching posts are sanctioned, but the school has been operating with only one teacher since January 15.

Headteacher Abdul Momin is running the entire school alone, teaching 70 students while also handling administrative duties.

At North Rasulpur Government Primary School in Cumilla Sadar upazila, the headteacher post has been vacant for nearly a decade.

Assistant teacher Mohammad Manjurul Alam has been performing the duties of headteacher while teaching 225 students and handling administrative, financial and official responsibilities.

Officials at the Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) said many schools have remained without headteachers for years due to legal complications involving recruitment, seniority and promotion.

Under existing rules, 20 percent of headteacher posts are filled through direct recruitment and 80 percent through promotion from among assistant teachers.

A writ petition filed in 2017 challenged a provision of the 2013 Recruitment Rules concerning seniority, stalling the process of filling many vacant posts.

Officials at the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education said a formal requisition would soon be sent to the Public Service Commission for direct recruitment and promotion under special arrangements.

In October last year, then DPE Director General Abu Noor Md Shamsuzzaman said around 13,500 assistant-teacher posts were vacant across the country.

At Sonarua Government Primary School in Kapasia upazila of Gazipur, only four teachers are working against six authorized posts.

Acting headteacher Ashraful Islam said around three classes are cancelled every day because there are not enough teachers.

State Minister Bobby Hajjaj said the assistant-teacher shortage had now been reduced significantly, with only around 2,000 additional teachers needed.

The 14,000 newly recruited teachers are currently undergoing police verification and will receive two months of training.

There are currently around 387,000 teachers serving in government primary schools across the country.

The DPE’s Annual Sector Performance Report 2024 found that 12,935 government primary schools were operating with four or fewer teachers. Of these, 133 had only one teacher and 633 had only two.

The report said extremely understaffed schools operating with minimal human resources severely affect classroom instructional quality and multi-grade management.

According to 2023 data cited in the report, the average number of teachers per government primary school was 6.29. Chattogram had the highest average at 6.65, followed by Dhaka at 6.52 and Rajshahi at 6.46. Sylhet had the lowest at 5.59, followed by Barishal at 5.89.

Rasheda K Choudhury, executive director of the Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), said the teacher shortage had persisted for years and worsened in some areas after the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said weaker students suffer the most because understaffed schools have little scope to provide remedial support.

Delays in recruitment, difficulties in finding qualified teachers and reluctance among some teachers to work in remote areas have contributed to the problem, she said.

Source : The Daily Star