At around 11am on a sunny morning, students at Abul Bashar Government Primary School in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur were playing in the corridor while classrooms remained empty. Asked why classes were not taking place, some children said their teacher was absent.
Similar scenes were observed during visits to several government primary schools in Mohammadpur and Agargaon, where teacher shortages and large class sizes raised concerns about regular classroom teaching.
The pressure is reflected in school-level figures. Siddique Miah Obaitonik RPS has 308 students and only five teachers, an average of about 62 students per teacher. Government records indicate that the school should have at least eight teachers.
Rebeka Sultana, headteacher of Siddique Miah Primary School, told Dhaka Tribune: “Yes, there were three vacant posts. But after the recent assistant teacher recruitment process, they will be filled.”
At Jobeda Khatun RPS, six teachers serve 254 students, or around 42 students per teacher. Badshamia Government Primary School has 542 students and 14 teachers, averaging about 39 students per teacher.
Agargaon Taltola Government Primary School has 635 students and 18 teachers. Headteacher Nasrin Akter said the student-teacher ratio was around 37:1, while the school also faced a shortage of classrooms.
“We have a shortage of rooms. If the second-phase development project is implemented, this problem will also be resolved,” she told Dhaka Tribune.
Teachers said their workload extends beyond classroom teaching. Schools open at 7:30am, classes begin at 8am and continue until 2pm, with each class lasting 50 minutes. Teachers must also send photographs confirming their attendance to a designated group.
A teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Taking classes for such long hours while handling various other responsibilities is difficult to describe. On top of that, we have to deal with a lot of administrative work every day. And then there is also a shortage of manpower and classrooms.”
Primary schools face leadership gaps
Data from the Integrated Primary Education Information Management System (IPEMIS) show that 23 primary schools under the Mohammadpur Thana education office have 7,447 students and 260 teachers. Staffing pressure varies across schools, with some having considerably more students per teacher than others.
The shortage of permanent headteachers is a nationwide concern. According to the Directorate of Primary Education, 27,734 of the country’s 65,553 headteacher posts are vacant.
When a headteacher’s post remains vacant, an assistant teacher may have to handle administrative responsibilities alongside regular classes. These duties include maintaining records, submitting reports, managing attendance and coordinating school activities, leaving less time for teaching.
Mohammadpur Thana Education Officer Nayer Sultana acknowledged that some schools in the area did not have headteachers. She expressed hope that the problem would ease as recruitment and deployment progressed.
The government has recommended 14,384 candidates for assistant teacher posts. However, not all completed the appointment process within the stipulated period. A significant number of assistant teacher vacancies are also expected to remain even after the new recruits join.
Meanwhile, officials said the government planned to fill vacant headteacher posts through promotion. The appointment process had been delayed by legal complications and litigation, but a court ruling earlier this year paved the way for recruitment to resume.
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said the government was addressing teacher shortages through recruitment, promotions and a new teacher policy covering training, deployment and professional development.
He said the process of filling headteacher posts had begun and stressed that teachers should receive training before entering classrooms.
Government secondary schools lack subject specialists
Government secondary schools face similar pressure, with vacancies affecting both overall staffing and the availability of teachers for specific subjects.
Of 15,293 sanctioned assistant teacher posts across 702 government secondary schools, 2,842 were vacant in the latest reported figures, accounting for around 18.6%. Another 383 headteacher posts and 249 assistant headteacher posts were unfilled.
At Shahid Monu Mia Government High School, Dhaka Tribune found seven teachers, including the headteacher, serving around 400 students.
Acting headteacher Md Delwar Hossain said the shortage of teachers in specific subjects meant existing teachers had to take five to six classes a day, while the headteacher also had to teach.
“Many subject teachers are not available. This is how we are running the school,” he said.
Vacancies are particularly pronounced in several subject areas. According to the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), government secondary schools have 319 of 1,020 social science posts, 253 of 786 business studies posts, 252 of 854 biology posts and 210 of 881 physical science posts vacant.
Vacancies also include 452 Bangla, 256 religious studies, 155 fine arts and 173 physical education posts.
Educationists say shortages of subject specialists may be affecting students’ Secondary School Certificate (SSC) results.
DSHE Director General Prof Khan Moynuddin Al Mahmud Sohel said teacher shortages had made school operations difficult.
He said recruitment delays under the Bangladesh Public Service Commission’s non-cadre system had prolonged the crisis, adding that the issue had been raised with the Education Ministry.
Staffing gaps affect learning
Teacher shortages are compounded by weaknesses in classroom practices and academic management.
Recently published data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) show that only 6,317, or 47.99%, of the 13,164 teachers in government secondary schools had professional training.
An inspection by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, conducted between April and June, covered 5,431 schools and monitored classroom activities at 2,747 of them.
The findings showed that learning materials were not aligned with lesson content in 57% of the schools monitored, while 52% did not properly maintain continuous assessment records.
Experts say recruitment and training initiatives may ease the pressure, but the challenge extends beyond the number of appointments. Schools need teachers in the subjects they teach, permanent academic leadership and working conditions that allow teachers to focus on students rather than carry an excessive administrative burden.
Professor Mohammad Mujibur Rahman of the University of Dhaka’s Institute of Education and Research told Dhaka Tribune that teacher shortages often received less attention than equipment and classroom technology.
“Teachers are the ones who create smart students,” he said, calling for greater focus on filling vacancies and supporting teachers.
Emeritus Professor Manzoor Ahmed told Dhaka Tribune: “Filling vacant posts alone will not be enough. A comprehensive plan is needed to determine how many teachers are required in each subject, how they should be recruited and deployed, and how classroom teaching quality can be improved.”