A total of 1,459 teacher posts are lying vacant across 1,623 government primary schools in Tangail, disrupting classroom activities and affecting the quality of education.
Of the vacant posts, 888 are for head teachers and 571 for assistant teachers. Officials said recruitment delays, promotion-related complications and administrative issues have created the shortage.
According to the District Primary Education Office, 735 head teachers are currently working in the district, while 888 schools across 12 upazilas have no head teacher.
The shortage is particularly severe in remote and rural areas, where schools are struggling to maintain regular lessons. Teachers and educationists said students are falling behind in academic competitions due to the prolonged crisis.
In Khajnagora Government Primary School under Ghatail Upazila, acting head teacher Nasir Uddin said the school, established in 1936, has 112 students but only two teachers against an approved strength of five.
“We have to run classes in two shifts. Besides teaching, the acting head teacher has to handle various official tasks, making it almost impossible for one teacher to manage the remaining classes,” he said.
He added that many parents were moving their children to other institutions as the school failed to ensure quality education.
Bashirul Islam, president of Bangladesh Primary Teachers Association’s Basail Upazila unit, said the shortage of teachers was hampering classroom learning and making it difficult to ensure proper attention to students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Without adequate teachers, it is difficult to achieve the goals of primary education and ensure quality learning,” he said.
Former principal of Tangail Government Maulana Mohammad Ali College Shahiduzzaman Mia said every child must receive quality education to compete in a globalised world, requiring adequate recruitment and practical training for teachers.
Tangail District Primary Education Officer Shaheen Mia said teacher shortages were causing various problems in schools. He said efforts were underway to manage the situation through teacher adjustments and the issue had been communicated to higher authorities.
He added that the government was taking steps to recruit qualified teachers to fill vacant posts. He also suggested introducing a policy requiring teachers to serve in rural areas and promoting acting head teachers to address the shortage.
