An acute teacher shortage has long been disrupting academic activities at government high schools across Cox’s Bazar.
At Moheshkhali Government Girls’ High School, each teacher has to handle a heavy workload, often taking 28-30 classes a week.
The school has 330 students. Of the 11 approved teaching posts, five assistant teacher posts and the head teacher’s post remain vacant. Currently, five assistant teachers are serving there, with one of them acting as head teacher.
Mohammad Helal Uddin, acting head teacher of the school, said teachers get no break from 10:00am to 4:00pm as they have to take classes continuously.
“They are under severe stress, which in turn hampers the quality of education to some extent,” he said.
To cope with the crisis, four part-time teachers have been appointed, but the situation has not improved much, he added.
A similar situation prevails at Teknaf Ezahar Government Girls’ High School, Cox’s Bazar Government High School, and Cox’s Bazar Government Girls’ High School.
Of the 10 government secondary schools in Cox’s Bazar, nine are facing shortages of subject teachers and administrative staff and are largely relying on part-time teachers to continue academic activities.
Some schools also have vacant head teacher posts, with acting heads managing both academic and administrative duties.
According to the district education office, Cox’s Bazar Govt High School and Cox’s Bazar Govt Girls’ High School have 16 vacant teaching posts, while Ramu Khizari Government High School has 19, Moheshkhali Govt Girls’ High School and Teknaf Ezahar Govt Girls’ High School have six each, Kutubdia Govt High School has 10, Ukhiya Govt High School has four, Chakaria Govt High School has 15, and Chakaria Govt Girls’ High School has 14.
Overall, 62 of 153 assistant teacher posts and 47 of 82 senior assistant teacher posts across the nine schools are vacant.
Pekua GMC Government High School is the only exception, where all nine teaching posts are filled.
Ram Mohan Sen, head teacher of Cox’s Bazar Government High School, said managing multiple sections has become increasingly difficult, as many teachers who join from other districts later get transferred.
“Teacher numbers sometimes drop further. We regularly send updated information to the department, but no appointments are being made,” he said.
Anupam Das, acting head teacher of Cox’s Bazar Govt Girls’ High School, echoed him.
“We need at least six mathematics teachers for 10 sections, but we have only two. How can two teachers handle so many sections?” he said.
As a result, teachers from other subjects are often assigned to take mathematics classes, depriving students of quality learning, he added.
Md A Mannan, deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar and also president of the school management committees, said the issue of vacant teaching posts would be raised with the relevant authorities.
“If more local candidates succeeded in competitive recruitment examinations, it would have been easier to post them in their own areas, allowing them to serve their communities,” he added.
