Bandarban Government Secondary Schools Have 150 of 223 Teaching Posts Vacant, Running With Only 73 Teachers

Ensuring quality education for students in Bandarban's remote hill areas is already difficult. On top of that, the district's government secondary schools are facing an acute shortage of teachers.

Across eight government high schools in the district's seven upazilas, there are 223 approved teaching posts. Only 73 teachers are working against those posts. A total of 150 posts are vacant, which is about 67 percent of all posts. In other words, teaching in the schools is being carried on with only one-third of the approved number of teachers.

These schools have 7,556 students. Without the necessary teachers, regular teaching, finishing the curriculum on time and making up students' learning gaps have become difficult. Students are being harmed most by the shortage in important subjects such as science, mathematics, English and information technology.

Alongside the teacher shortage, the schools also lack the manpower needed to run administrative and office work. That has created extra workload for the teachers who are working, and maintaining the quality of teaching has become hard.

According to the District Secondary Education Office, the crisis is most severe in several schools. At Bandarban Government Girls' High School, only 12 teachers are working against 52 approved posts. At Rowangchhari Government High School, only four people, including the head teacher, are working against 27 approved posts.

In addition, Ali Kadam Government High School has four teachers against 17 posts, Ruma Government High School has five against 15 posts, Thanchi Government High School has six against 15 posts, Lama Government High School has nine against 27 posts and Naikhongchhari Government High School has four against 16 posts.

Guardian Mongching Nu Marma said the teacher shortage in the schools has existed for a long time. Many village children are interested in studying in the science stream, but without the necessary teachers many cannot get that opportunity. They are forced to enrol in the humanities stream instead.

Momtaz Uddin, head teacher of Bandarban Government Girls' High School, said the school is struggling to keep students' studies running properly because of the teacher shortage. Higher authorities have been informed several times, but no effective result has been obtained, and the school is continuing in this struggling way, he said.

Md Nurul Islam, head teacher of Ali Kadam Government High School, said the shortage at his school is acute. For a long time the school had to be run with only three teachers. After informing higher authorities repeatedly, one more teacher was given. Activities now have to be run with four teachers, and the absence of subject-based teachers is causing the greatest difficulty.

Several assistant teachers said that with fewer teachers than needed, those working have to handle extra pressure. Without enough teachers in important subjects including mathematics and science, regular teaching and ensuring quality become difficult and learning gaps develop among students. They also said housing and necessary facilities for teachers in remote hill areas must be ensured, because the lack of such facilities is creating problems in posting teachers and retaining them at their workplaces for the long term.

District Secondary Education Officer Md Jasim Uddin said the shortage is greatest in information and communication technology, English, mathematics and science in the government secondary schools. A list of vacant posts in the district's schools has been prepared and already sent in writing to the divisional head, he said.

Muhammad Faridul Alam Hossaini, deputy director for the Chattogram region of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, said the authorities are aware of the teacher shortage in the Chattogram Hill Tracts and the concerned authorities have been informed. He said it is hoped that a group of teachers will be posted within the next month and that the government will try to fill vacant posts in hill tracts schools on a priority basis.