Nearly half of the government primary schools in Cumilla are operating without permanent head teachers, a situation that education stakeholders say is affecting academic standards and school administration.
According to the Cumilla District Primary Education Office, 894 of the district's 2,107 government primary schools currently have no permanent head teachers. At the same time, 970 assistant teacher posts also remain vacant, creating an acute shortage of teaching staff.
Official data show that while there are 2,107 approved head teacher posts, only 1,213 are currently filled, leaving 42.42 percent of the posts vacant. Of the 13,389 approved assistant teacher posts, only 12,419 are occupied.
The teacher shortage has forced assistant teachers serving as acting head teachers to shoulder both administrative and academic responsibilities, making it difficult to ensure quality classroom teaching.
The situation is evident at North Rasulpur Government Primary School in Cumilla Sadar upazila, where no permanent head teacher has been appointed for nearly a decade. During this period, five assistant teachers have successively served as acting head teacher.
Currently, assistant teacher Mohammad Manjurul Alam is performing the role. The century-old school has 225 students and only six teachers.
"Apart from taking regular classes, I have to manage all administrative, financial and official responsibilities of the school. Handling both duties simultaneously naturally reduces the time and attention I can devote to teaching, affecting the quality of education," he said.
Manjurul called for the immediate appointment of a permanent head teacher and adequate assistant teachers to ensure better learning opportunities for students.
A similar scenario exists across most upazilas in the district, including Debidwar, Muradnagar, Nangalkot, Chauddagram, Daudkandi, Barura, Brahmanpara, Chandina, Titas, Meghna, Monohargonj, Sadar Dakkhin, Adarsha Sadar, Laksam and Homna.
Rashed Mia, general secretary of the Cumilla district unit of the Bangladesh Government Primary School Assistant Teachers' Association, said the absence of head teachers places an additional burden on assistant teachers.
"They have to spend considerable time on administrative work, leaving less time for classroom teaching. Every school should have a permanent head teacher, and each should also have a head clerk to reduce the administrative workload," he said.
Kawsar Alam Sohel, president of Lal Sabuj Unnayan Sangha, said teacher shortages remain a major challenge in primary education across the country.
"When assistant teachers have to take on additional administrative responsibilities due to the absence of head teachers, students ultimately suffer. The vacant posts should be filled without delay," he said.
Prof Dr Md Shahadat Hossain, chairman of the Department of Chemistry at Comilla University, said primary education forms the foundation of a student's academic life.
"Without a head teacher, both academic and administrative leadership become weak. Assistant teachers cannot devote adequate attention to classroom teaching while managing additional responsibilities, and the impact extends to students' future education," he said.
Cumilla District Primary Education Officer Mansur Ali Chowdhury, however, said senior assistant teachers have been assigned as acting head teachers since 2019.
"We do not believe the current situation is causing any major disruption to educational activities. Nevertheless, filling the vacant posts is under consideration by the higher authorities," he said.
Education experts stressed that the government should fill vacant head teacher and assistant teacher posts, address school-level staffing shortages, and strengthen administrative structures to improve the quality of primary education and ensure a sustainable education system.
They warned that continued delays could weaken the educational foundation of future generations.