Rajshahi’s Bagmara upazila is facing a headmaster shortage as 127 of its 220 government primary schools operating without a permanent head.
This forces assistant teachers to take the responsibilities of acting head teachers, significantly disrupting both teaching and administrative activities.
According to the Upazila Primary Education Office, beyond the 127 vacant head teacher positions, there are also gaps in assistant teacher roles.
Out of 1,076 authorised assistant teacher positions, only 1,043 are currently filled. A striking 70% of these active assistant teachers are women, many of whom are on maternity leave, further straining resources.
The burden on acting head teachers are typically assistant teachers that means they are heavily involved in administrative tasks, leaving them with little time for classroom instruction.
This dual problem of teacher vacancies and assistant teachers acting as heads severely hampers the quality of education. The situation is worsening as several head teachers retire each month.
For instance, on July 3, three head teacher positions became vacant – one due to a transfer and two due to retirement. This consistent outflow means the shortage of head teachers is growing daily, leading to both positional vacancies and a broader lack of teaching staff and personnel.
Investigations reveal that the absence of a permanent head teacher creates a vacuum in classroom instruction as acting head teachers are preoccupied with administrative duties. This situation also seemingly allows other assistant teachers to come and go from school at their discretion. Despite instructions for teachers to be present by 9:00 AM, many reportedly do not arrive on time and often leave before the scheduled closing.
Bandaikhara Government Primary School Head Teacher Joyanta Kumar Sarkar said that the head teacher is the "main driving force" of a school and when this role is filled by an acting teacher, normal operations are bound to suffer.
He noted that both direct recruitment and promotion-based appointments for head teachers have ceased, contributing to the current crisis.
Upazila Primary Education Officer Saiful Islam said, "We are regularly providing information to the higher authorities regarding the teacher shortage. A permanent solution to this problem is not possible until new recruitments are made."
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mahbubul Islam told, "I have urged the education officer regarding the head teacher vacancies. Additionally, steps are being taken to ensure that proper teaching continues in all schools."
