Kulaura pry edu office faces manpower shortage
The Upazila Primary Education Office in Kulaura, Moulvibazar, has long been grappling with manpower shortage. 165 posts for headmasters and assistant teachers are vacant across the upazila’s 193 government primary schools, including 65 headmaster posts and 100 assistant teacher posts.
According to data from the Upazila Primary Education Office, there are 193 sanctioned headmaster posts for 193 government primary schools in Kulaura. However, 128 headmasters are currently employed, leaving 65 positions vacant.
Furthermore, the supervision of these primary schools is being managed by just one Upazila Primary Education Officer and two Assistant Upazila Education Officers. Due to the staffing crisis at the education office, all official operations are being severely disrupted.
Meanwhile, discussions with relevant stakeholders reveal that the shortage of teachers is placing additional strain on regular classes and administrative activities at the schools.
In particular, due to the absence of headmasters, many schools are forced to manage administrative tasks through acting headmasters.
Meanwhile, there are 989 sanctioned posts for assistant teachers, of which 889 are currently filled, leaving 100 positions vacant. Upazila Primary Education Officer Naznin Sultana said the higher authorities were informed about the vacant teaching positions.
The teacher shortage would be significantly alleviated once appointments and postings are made to fill these vacancies.
However, in the meantime, teaching activities are being conducted by the currently employed teachers, and efforts are being made to maintain normalcy.
She further said regular inspection and supervision of schools are being hampered because seven of the nine Assistant Upazila Education Officer posts are vacant.
Additionally, the administrative operations of the Upazila Primary Education Office are severely disrupted due to the absence of a computer operator.
For nearly seven years, seven of the nine sanctioned posts for Assistant Upazila Education Officers have remained vacant. Although two officials are currently employed, only three have been on duty over the past year. All four posts for Office Assistant-cum-Computer Operator have been vacant for more than a decade.
The post of Accounts Assistant has been vacant for seven years, while the post of Office Attendant has remained vacant since 2003.
Md. Abu Bakkar Siddique, who serves as an Upper Division Assistant and formerly worked as an Office Assistant at the Education Office, said he is single-handedly managing a workload that would normally require seven employees.
He said he faces significant difficulties handling the tasks alone and that the pressure of work often compels him to work at the office even on holidays. Headmasters from various schools said the upazila’s schools are organised into six clusters and 32 sub-clusters.
Sub-cluster meetings involving headmasters are held every three months, while monthly coordination meetings are also held.
However, although there are nine sanctioned posts for Assistant Upazila Education Officers in the upazila, seven of these positions have remained vacant since 2011. Due to the shortage of Assistant Education Officers, the desired objectives of coordination and cluster meetings are not being achieved.
It is also difficult to monitor whether teachers are arriving at and leaving school on time.
In the absence of Assistant Education Officers and regular school inspections, teachers are reportedly attending school at their own discretion. Even the proper conduct of classroom activities remains uncertain.
Furthermore, school-related tasks require repeated visits to the education office, often involving hours of waiting. This situation is affecting young students, and concerned locals fear it could lead to a decline in the quality of education.
Posting officials and staff to the vacant positions would restore momentum to all activities of the office, she added.
