There are 2,107 government primary schools in the district that have posts of 12,708 teachers, according to the district education office. 

Sources said 295 of these schools in 17 upazilas do not have any regular headmasters while the posts of 1,208 assistant teachers are lying vacant.

Ten posts of headmasters are vacant in Adarsha Sadar upazila; seven each in Laksham and Chandina; 22 each in Debidwar, Daudkandi and Chouddagram; 27 in Muradnagar; 11 in Brahmanpara; six in Barura; 37 in Burichang; 21 in Homna; 40 in Nangalkot; 12 in Meghna; 20 in Monohorganj; 17 in Titas; nine in Sadar Dakkhin and five in Lalmai.

Sixty-one posts of assistant teachers have remained vacant in Adarsha Sadar upazila. The number is 45 in Laksham, 40 in Debidwar, 124 in Muradnagar, 144 in Daudkandi, 114 in Chouddagram, 58 in Brahmanpara, 77 in Barura, 14 in Burichang, 70 in Chandina, 42 in Homna, 157 in Nangalkot, 24 in Meghna, 98 in Monoharganj, 89 in Titas, 11 in Sadar Dakkhin and 40 in Lalmai upazilas. 

Imtiaz Uddin, headmaster of Nangolkot Bannagar Government Primary School, said the shortage of teachers was seriously hampering educational activities. “Only two assistant teachers are struggling to deal with 137 students,” he said.

Nizam Uddin Majumdar, general secretary of Nangolkot Upazila Government Primary School Teachers’ Association, said Bagra, Bannagor and AKM Hirmat Ali government primary schools are suffering because of teacher crisis.

“These schools are running educational activities with only two teachers,” he said.

District Education Officer Abdul Mannan assured that steps are being taken to resolve the problem.

“We’ll send a list of senior teachers to the higher authorities for promoting them to the post of headmaster,” he said. “A recruitment test for assistant teachers was held and the viva voce examination is underway.”