For three months, Harun Or Rashid has been visiting a land office in Kishoreganj to have three acres of land mutated in his name. Each visit brings the same explanation: there are not enough staff members to process his application.
Harun, a resident of Chilni village in Itna upazila, is among many citizens struggling to obtain government services as widespread staff shortages delay routine work.
Every union land office in Kishoreganj faces staff shortages, with more than half the sanctioned posts vacant in Itna alone.
Each office is supposed to have a land assistant officer, a deputy assistant land officer and two office assistants. But Harun’s local office has no one in these positions.
Bajendra Sutradhar, assistant land officer of Itna Sadar union, holds additional responsibility for the office. His infrequent visits leave applications progressing at a snail’s pace.
The problem extends far beyond land administration.
Despite widespread unemployment, more than one in four sanctioned government posts remains vacant, slowing public services and increasing workloads for existing employees.
According to Government Employees Statistics 2025, government institutions have 19,86,272 sanctioned posts but only 14,64,350 employees.
That leaves 5,21,922 vacancies across government departments, agencies and field-level administration, accounting for 26 per cent of sanctioned posts.
The facts are mirrored by Dhaka University Public Administration Professor Sadik Hasan, who said staff shortages were widespread.
“The job of government employees is to provide services to ordinary people. With so many posts vacant, people will not receive the services they expect,” he told TIMES.
The vacancies also frustrate jobseekers.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey 2024, the country has 26.20 lakh unemployed people.
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) “Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific”, published last week, found that nearly 29 per cent of highly educated young people in Bangladesh were unemployed.
Yet, slow recruitment delays their entry into employment, adding to their financial and psychological difficulties.
Healthcare services suffer
Staff shortages are also disrupting essential healthcare, where delays can sometimes have fatal consequences.
Hafizul Rahman travelled from Prajarkanda village in Itna to the upazila health complex after experiencing chest pain.
Although the hospital had the necessary equipment, officials said they could not conduct important diagnostic tests because of staff shortages.
He was instead advised to travel 40 kilometres to Shaheed Syed Nazrul Islam Medical College Hospital in Kishoreganj Sadar.
Serving nearly two lakh people, the Itna health complex has only 10 doctors against 27 sanctioned posts.
Even those 10 are not always available.
Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Bidhan Chandra Debnath said only five to six doctors were regularly available, as others were attending training, appearing in court, or on leave.
Support staff are also in short supply.
The hospital, established in 1967, has been unable to introduce surgical services even after nearly six decades. Medical equipment supplied to the facility is becoming unusable because of staff shortages.
Cumilla Sadar Hospital faces similar difficulties, with its neurologist post vacant.
Ayesha Akter travelled 35 kilometres from Balakhal in Nangalkot upazila with her husband, who had suffered a stroke, but was left disappointed.
Cumilla Civil Surgeon Md Zahirul Islam said doctors alone could not ensure quality healthcare without adequate support staff.
He said 268 posts in grades 11 to 16, including those of ayahs and gardeners, remained vacant. The ministry had been informed.
At Cumilla Medical College Hospital, Director Md Shahjahan said the hospital needed at least 77 employees, including gardeners and cleaners, but had only 44.
“The shortage of necessary staff is making it difficult even to carry out the hospital’s regular activities,” he said.
Autonomous institutions worst affected
Autonomous and state-owned institutions have the highest vacancy rate, with 39 per cent of sanctioned posts unfilled.
In effect, 61 employees are doing the work of a hundred.
These institutions include municipalities, city corporations, banks, financial institutions, education boards and universities.
Government figures show 5,10,771 sanctioned posts, 3,11,378 employees and 1,99,384 vacancies in these institutions.
The Ministry of Public Administration, divisional commissioners’ offices and district administration offices have a combined vacancy rate of 34.9 per cent.
The rate is 29.9 per cent across ministries and divisions and 21.3 per cent in government directorates and departments.
Why recruitment remains stalled
Professor Sadik Hasan identified two main reasons for the vacancies: limited government finances and a shortage of suitably qualified candidates.
He said institutions often sought permission to fill vacancies but received approval for far fewer appointments.
“An institution may request permission to recruit 100 employees, but the Ministry of Finance approves the recruitment of only 20. The remaining 80 posts stay vacant. Sometimes, the required qualifications are also not found among candidates,” he said.
Former secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder cited irregular recruitment, a lack of willingness among responsible officials and political interference.
“First, despite vacant posts, the government does not recruit regularly. Those responsible for taking such initiatives lack the willingness to act. As a result, government recruitment remains stalled for years,” he said.
He said recruitment could also stall over fears that political leaders would submit lists of preferred candidates.
“Some officials are unsure whether they will be able to recruit their own people. As a result, they do not want to take the risk,” he added.
The BNP pledged in its election manifesto to fill 500,000 vacant posts within five years and make 100,000 new appointments in the health sector.
In June, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman told parliament that the government had decided to recruit staff, including around 3,000 employees for the Ministry of Public Administration and its subordinate departments and agencies.
State Minister for Public Administration Abdul Bari said the government had set recruitment targets for the first 180 days, the following two years, and subsequent years respectively.
“A target was set to fill 2,879 vacant posts in the first 180 days. Of these, appointments have already been made to 2,061 posts,” he said. “All ministries and divisions have now been instructed to take steps to fill their vacant posts.”
However, recruitment will add to the government’s financial burden.
The government plans to raise public sector salaries by 100 per cent or more – in phases – over the next two years.
The new pay structure is expected to increase annual salary expenditure by Tk1,05,000 crore.
Filling existing vacancies and creating new posts under the BNP’s election pledges would raise the cost further.
Additional reporting by Mahfuj Nanto from Cumilla and Rakibul Hasan Rokel from Kishoreganj.
