More than half of government primary schools in Narail district are operating without permanent head teachers, forcing assistant teachers to take on administrative duties that are disrupting classroom teaching.
According to the District Primary Education Office, 280 of the district’s 495 government primary schools — nearly 57 per cent — are being led by acting head teachers.
At DSB Government Primary School in Sheikhhati union of Sadar upazila, established in 1954 and nationalised in 1974, 132 students are taught under the supervision of assistant teacher Mahmuda Parvin, who has been serving as acting head teacher for the past two years. “As I perform the duties of a head teacher, I frequently have to remain occupied with official work. As a result, classroom teaching is disrupted,” she said.
Another assistant teacher, Sonia Khanam, said administrative tasks often require acting head teachers to be away from the school premises. “Teacher numbers are already limited. Managing both administrative responsibilities and regular teaching has become increasingly difficult,” she added.
The shortage extends beyond head teachers. Vacancies for assistant teacher posts also persist across the district, leaving schools with insufficient staff to conduct academic activities. Kripa Sikder, acting head teacher at Tularampur Government Primary School since 2018, expressed frustration over continuing to receive an assistant teacher’s salary while carrying head teacher responsibilities. “Prolonged additional responsibilities without corresponding benefits have caused growing dissatisfaction among teachers,” she said.
Teachers highlighted that acting head teachers must manage classroom instruction alongside administrative tasks such as maintaining records, submitting government reports, coordinating meetings and overseeing office management. These dual duties leave little time for teaching, particularly in schools already facing staff shortages.
Guardians voiced concern, noting that head teachers play a crucial academic and administrative role. Prolonged vacancies weaken school management and place added pressure on teachers, ultimately affecting education quality.
District Primary Education Officer Md Jahangir Alam acknowledged the challenges and said the issue had been communicated to the Directorate of Primary Education. “We are trying to address the situation through acting head teachers. The prolonged vacancies are largely due to legal complications, but we hope the issue will be resolved soon,” he said.
