DERAI, SUNAMGANJ, July 4: Administrative activities related to secondary education have been disrupted in Sunamganj as the posts of upazila secondary education officers remain vacant in all 12 upazilas (UZs) of the district, officials said.
The district's secondary education office has recently urged the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) to fill the vacant posts to ensure smooth functioning of field-level education administration.
According to the district secondary education office, both the upazila secondary education officer and assistant upazila secondary education officer posts have remained vacant for a prolonged period in most upazilas. Only Shantiganj has an assistant upazila secondary education officer, who is also serving as the officer-in-charge of neighbouring Chhatak Upazila.
The vacant posts have slowed routine administrative work, including school inspections, monitoring of teachers and supervision of academic activities, officials said.
The district office sent a letter to the director general of the DSHE on June 1 requesting immediate appointment of officers to the vacant positions. Copies of the letter were also sent to the director and deputy director of the DSHE's Sylhet Regional Office, the deputy commissioner of Sunamganj and all upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) in the district.
Officials said the district secondary education officer is currently overseeing the responsibilities of the vacant upazila posts in addition to his regular duties.
The situation is particularly acute in Derai upazila, where the post of upazila secondary education officer has remained vacant since March 7, 2024. Since then, the district secondary education officer has been performing the duties on an additional charge basis.
Teachers and education stakeholders said the absence of permanent officers has delayed official procedures, including approval of documents, institutional inspections, teacher-related administrative work and follow-up on academic programmes. They expressed concern that the prolonged vacancies could ultimately affect the quality of education and implementation of government initiatives.
District Secondary Education Officer Md Zulfikar Hossain acknowledged the problem, saying the vacancies were hampering school supervision, teacher monitoring and efforts to improve educational standards.
"We have requested the authorities to appoint officials to the vacant posts as soon as possible so that administrative activities at the upazila level can be carried out smoothly," he said.
Education officials hope the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education will take prompt action to fill the vacancies, enabling the district's education administration to function more effectively and ensuring better services for schools, teachers and students.
