United News of Bangladesh

As many as 669 of 1,455 government primary schools in Rangpur district are running without headteachers, with assistant teachers serving in acting capacities for prolonged periods, disrupting administrative activities and affecting classroom teaching. According to the Rangpur District Primary Education Office, all eight upazilas in the district have vacant headteacher posts. Of the 115 government primary schools in Kaunia, 50 have no headteachers, while 60 of 178 schools in Gangachara, 56 of 75 in Taraganj, 125 of 236 in Pirganj, 94 of 178 in Pirgacha, 110 of 176 in Badarganj, 146 of 275 in Mithapukur and 28 of 222 in Rangpur Sadar are facing the same shortage. Teachers said a section of teachers recruited from non-government primary schools that were later nationalised had filed cases claiming seniority and seeking appointment or promotion to headteacher posts. The cases kept the promotion process for headteachers stalled for several years, they said. Without headteachers, assistant teachers are being assigned acting headteacher responsibilities. However, in many cases, other teachers do not readily accept the authority of someone who continues to hold an assistant teacher’s post, creating difficulties in administrative coordination and official work, many said. Anisur Rahman, acting headteacher of Shiber Bazar Government Primary School in Mithapukur, said he had been performing the additional responsibility since 2025. His school also has three vacant assistant teacher posts, he said. “I have to take classes as an assistant teacher. At the same time, as acting headteacher, I often have to remain outside the school for official work. I cannot take classes properly, and the number of students has also declined,” he said. “The government is not promoting us, nor are new headteachers being appointed. Although I am serving as acting headteacher, I am still an assistant teacher, so other teachers sometimes hesitate to follow my instructions. This problem needs to be resolved quickly,” Anisur said. Amaipur Government Primary School in Mithapukur has also been without a headteacher for several years. Although the school has more than 100 students on its records, local residents said only around 30 to 40 students regularly attend classes. Locals alleged that many people had lost interest in the school as its acting headteacher had failed to restore discipline. However, acting headteacher Muhibul Hasan said the school’s daily activities are running smoothly. He alleged that an “interested group” in the area is spreading misinformation about the institution. A teacher at Shiber Bazar Government Primary School, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the number of teachers at the school has fallen by one since the acting headteacher took charge. “Because of the teacher shortage, we cannot take classes properly even when we want to. The number of students has gradually declined. The problem needs to be resolved urgently,” the teacher said, adding that many teachers in the upazila have become frustrated by the prolonged delay in promotions. Shahidul Islam, president of the Mithapukur upazila unit of the Bangladesh Primary Teachers’ Association and headteacher of Imadpur Government Primary School, said there had been no recruitment circular for headteacher posts for a long time. The number of vacancies has increased further as many headteachers have retired, he said. “Without headteachers, assistant teachers are not receiving proper guidance to improve the quality of education,” Shahidul said. Rangpur District Primary Education Officer Md Nazrul Islam said the authorities are managing the situation by deputing teachers from other schools, but normal activities are still being affected. “Acting headteachers are performing the responsibilities of headteachers while their posts as assistant teachers are also being retained. Basically, they remain assistant teachers,” he said. Nazrul said the actual number of vacant headteacher posts is higher than the official figure and the shortage is forcing teachers to take multiple classes. He said the cases filed by teachers of nationalised non-government schools over seniority have remained pending in court for a long time. “The process of sending a list of assistant teachers currently performing acting duties to the Public Service Commission for promotion to headteacher posts is underway. The orders will follow. Hopefully, the process will be completed soon,” the official said. He said the promotion process has remained suspended for so long because of the court case, resulting in the current shortage of headteachers. Besides, 387 assistant teachers have been selected for Rangpur district and are awaiting posting, the district primary education officer said. “If they join on October 1, the teacher shortage will be reduced to some extent,” Nazrul added.