Teacher shortage hampers primary education in Kalkini

A severe shortage of teachers is hampering educational activities at government primary schools in Kalkini upazila of Madaripur, with 117 of 936 sanctioned posts currently vacant across 148 schools.

The shortage is particularly affecting schools in char and remote areas, where students already face difficulties attending classes because of geographical isolation.

According to the upazila primary education office, 936 teacher posts, including those of headteachers, have been sanctioned for the 148 government primary schools in the upazila. Of these, 117 posts are currently vacant.

Among the vacant posts are 70 headteacher positions. In addition, 22 teachers are currently undergoing training at Primary Teachers’ Training Institute (PTI), while 12 others are on maternity leave, further reducing the number of teachers available for regular classes.

Kalkini Upazila Primary Education Officer Nazmul Islam said, “There are no permanent headteachers at 70 primary schools. Although appointments to these posts had been held up for a long time due to legal complications and court cases, the issues have recently moved towards resolution.”

The situation is especially critical at schools under the Khaserhat and Digirchar clusters, which cover char and remote areas. Due to geographical distances and poor accessibility, students in these areas already face challenges in attending school. The teacher shortage has made it more difficult to ensure regular and quality classroom teaching.

With permanent headteachers absent from 70 schools, assistant teachers are often performing the duties of acting headteachers. They have to handle administrative work alongside their teaching responsibilities, disrupting regular classroom activities.

An acting headteacher seeking anonmonity said, “We have been performing administrative duties as acting headteachers for a long time. It is difficult to take regular classes while managing office work. As a result, students are suffering.”

Guardian Mizanur Rahman said, “Our school has been without a headteacher for years. There is also a shortage of assistant teachers. As a result, our children are not receiving proper education. We demand that the vacant posts be filled quickly.”

Several students also complained that they were not receiving adequate classroom instruction because of the shortage of teachers.

“There are not enough teachers, so they cannot take classes properly. After teaching one class, they have to go to another. This is affecting our studies,” they said.

Local guardians and members of the community have demanded immediate steps to resolve the teacher shortage, particularly at schools in char and remote areas.

They called for filling the vacant posts and appointing permanent headteachers to restore normal educational activities.