PAIKGACHHA, KHULNA, June 14: A severe shortage of teachers at Paikgachha Government Girls High School in Khulna has brought academic activities to a near standstill, raising concerns over the future of more than 300 students.
Against 14 sanctioned teaching posts, only eight teachers are currently working at the institution, forcing the school to run with a critically inadequate workforce. As a result, regular classes in key subjects have been severely disrupted.
According to school sources, there are no regular teachers for core subjects including mathematics, Bengali, higher mathematics, English, biology and chemistry. Physics classes are also affected due to insufficient teaching staff. Most of these vacancies were created following retirements, but no fresh recruitment has been made for a long time, deepening the crisis further. One assistant teacher is also expected to go on B.Ed training this month, which may worsen the situation.
At present, an acting headmaster, a business studies teacher and a handful of senior and assistant teachers are somehow managing academic activities. However, due to the shortage, individual teachers are being forced to handle multiple subjects, severely affecting the quality of education.
The crisis is not limited to teaching staff alone. The administrative structure of the school has also been weakened, with the posts of headmaster and assistant headmaster lying vacant.
There are no office assistants, night guards or ayas (female helping-hands). Even office and computer-related tasks are being carried out by outsourced or temporary staff.
Students said the lack of regular classes is seriously hampering their studies. “We cannot understand mathematics and science properly due to irregular classes,” said a Class X student.
A Class IX student said, “When one teacher takes multiple subjects, it becomes difficult to grasp everything properly.” Another Class VIII student said, “Our English and Bengali are getting weaker. We have no option but to rely on coaching centres.”
Parents have also expressed deep concern over the situation. One guardian, Md Abdul Halim, said, “A school cannot function like this. Our children are falling behind year after year due to the lack of teachers. If the only goal is to make students pass exams, then where is quality education?”
He added that teaching subjects without specialised teachers is weakening students’ foundations, which will ultimately affect board examinations and higher education.
Local education activist Advocate Abu Hanif Sohail said the prolonged shortage of teachers is alarming. “If the situation is not resolved quickly, an entire generation will suffer,” he warned.
Acting Head-teacher Md Abdul Wahab said academic activities have been seriously affected due to long-standing vacancies in key positions.
“We are trying our best with limited manpower, but it is not possible to continue like this for long,” he said, urging authorities to take immediate steps for recruitment.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Wasizzaman Chowdhury said the issue is being taken seriously and necessary measures will be taken soon to address the crisis.
Deputy Director (acting) of the Secondary and Higher Education Directorate, Khulna region, Md Kamruzzaman said some posts became vacant due to retirements and the process of filling them is underway. He added that efforts will be made to minimise academic losses of students.
