Teacher shortage disrupts school activities in Tangail 

TANGAIL, Aug 25: As many as 1,459 teacher posts are lying vacant in 1,623 government primary schools across Tangail, disrupting classroom teaching and putting students at a disadvantage in academic competitions.

Of the vacant posts, 888 are for head-teachers and 571 for assistant teachers, according to the District Primary Education office.

The vacancies have resulted from various complications related to recruitment and promotion, officials said.

There are 1,623 government primary schools in the district's 12 upazilas. Of the 1,623 headteacher posts, 888 are vacant, leaving 735 head-teachers in service.

Upazila-wise, 110 of 172 head-teacher posts are vacant in Ghatail, 24 of 147 in Sakhipur, 126 of 161 in Gopalpur, 30 of 79 in Basail, 74 of 163 in Tangail Sadar, 63 of 100 in Delduar, 60 of 170 in Mirzapur, 112 of 170 in Kalihati, 73 of 110 in Madhupur, 105 of 156 in Nagarpur, 75 of 110 in Bhuapur and 36 of 85 in Dhanbari.

Meanwhile, 571 of the 9,068 sanctioned posts for assistant teachers are vacant. The district has 8,497 assistant teachers currently working.

The vacancies include 85 posts in Ghatail, 29 in Sakhipur, 81 in Gopalpur, 13 in Basail, 41 in Tangail Sadar, 46 in Delduar, 50 in Mirzapur, 64 in Kalihati, 27 in Madhupur, 65 in Nagarpur, 54 in Bhuapur and 16 in Dhanbari.

Nasir Uddin, an assistant teacher serving as acting headteacher at Khajnagora Government Primary School in Ghatail, said the school, established in 1936, has 112 students who attend classes in two shifts.

"Although the school has five sanctioned teacher posts, only two teachers are currently working here. The teacher assigned as acting head-teacher has to remain busy implementing various official instructions.

 It has become impossible for the remaining teacher to conduct all classes," he said.

"As a result, students are being deprived of quality education and falling behind in different competitions. Many parents are enrolling their children in other institutions," he added.

Bashirul Islam, president of the Basail Upazila unit of the Bangladesh Primary Teachers' Association, said teacher shortages were creating major obstacles to achieving the goals of primary education and ensuring quality learning.

"A teacher usually has to conduct around 25 to 30 classes a week. In schools facing teacher shortages, the number rises to 35 to 40. As a result, teachers do not have enough time to properly conduct classroom activities and ensure students' learning," he said.

He added that conducting baseline surveys had also become almost impossible and marginalised students were suffering the most.

Shahiduzzaman Mia, former principal of Government Maulana Mohammad Ali College in Tangail, said every child should receive quality education to prepare them for the challenges of a globalised world.

"Practical, up-to-date training for teachers and adequate recruitment are necessary to improve teaching methods," he said.

Tangail District Primary Education Officer Shaheen Mia said teacher shortages were disrupting classes and causing other problems at schools.

"Most of the vacant posts are in remote and marginal areas. We are trying to address the problem by redistributing teachers through transfers and adjustments," he said.

"The matter has been brought to the attention of the higher authorities. The government is working on recruiting competent and qualified teachers to fill the vacancies," he added.

He also stressed the need for a rule requiring teachers to serve in remote areas and suggested that acting head-teachers could be promoted and appointed to permanent posts to help ease the crisis.