There are 37,926 vacant posts of headmaster and assistant teachers in 66,566 primary schools in the country at present. State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Ministry Md. Zakir Hossen informed this at parliament on Tuesday. In response to a question of Awami League MP, Abul Kalam Azad, Zakir Hossen said that the government has a plan to fill the vacant posts of headmaster and assistant teachers. Also Read: Assimilated govt. college teachers demand job security In reply to the lawmakers’ tabled question, the state minister said, 29,858 posts of headmaster and 8,068 posts of assistant teacher are vacant now. He said that a requisition was sent to the Bangladesh Public Service Commission on January 4 from the Ministry of Public Administration for the filling 1,955 vacancies of headmasters.  In reply to another query from Jatiya Party MP Pir Fazlur Rahman, the State Minister for Primary and Mass Education said that the total number of primary school teachers in the country is 4.27 lakh. Among them, 3.90 lakh are in service. Meanwhile, Education Minister Dipu Moni in reply to a query from reserved seat MP Khaleda Khanam, told parliament that there is a plan to establish a university in each district and a medical university in each division.  She informed the House that at present there are two women's universities in the country—one is a private university and the other is an international women's university. Also Read: 366 govt primary schools in Kurigram run without head teacher In response to a query from AL MP Nasimul Alam Chowdhury, the education minister said that work in going on to introduce automation software to stop the fraud of educational certificates at the higher education level.  “Once the software is launched, it will be possible to save all the information of university level students and the certificate can be verified online from anywhere in the world. It will be possible to stop certificate fraud,” she also said. ALso Read: HC questions legality of primary school teacher recruitment on quota basis She said that action has already been taken against 678 teachers/employees having fake certificates.    

At least seven of the 18 jetties remained vacant in the Chittagong Seaport at the start of the new year due to a decline in container throughput. Port officials said on Monday vessels can currently enter the jetty without waiting at the outer anchorage. Earlier, vessels had to wait for several days. They say it could cause revenue losses for the port authorities and the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The decline is due to a decrease in import cargo flow. Although port users are reaping some short-term benefits because vessel congestion used to be a major impediment to container unloading. As the jetties have remained nearly empty, the average waiting time and cost of transportation of export goods have decreased. However, shipping agents are worried that this can eventually lead to a crisis in the long run. Port users are also worried about an impending problem. Also Read: Master operator of Ctg Port in ACC's scanner Port officials said that a decrease in vessel arrivals over the last few days was mostly caused by the use of new machinery. Chattogram Port Director (Transport) Enamul Karim said, the main reason for the decreased waiting time is the port's increased efficiency. “Container handling has sped up. So, we have to wait at least a month to determine if vessel unloading has decreased.” he said.  Captain Tanveer Hossain, Chief Operating Officer of Saif Powertec, the terminal operator of Chittagong Seaport, told UNB that container handling has sped up due to the addition of modern machinery.  “Even a year ago, vessels had to wait for days. Now, vessels can depart faster.” He did, however, also point out a decline in vessel arrivals as a result of the ongoing world economic crisis. Syed Mohammad Arif, Chairman of Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, told UNB that port users' hassle has lessened due to the addition of modern machinery.  “However, if the current situation continues, there is a high risk of future decline.” he concluded.  The port faced negative growth in container throughput in 2022 due to the decline in container handling. Some 31.42 lakh TEUs of containers were unloaded at the port last year, which was over 72,000 TEUs less in 2021.  A dramatic fall in imports due to the global economic crisis caused the decrease.      

Education Minister Dipu Moni on Monday told Parliament that some 4,150 posts of teachers are vacant in 43 public universities of the country. The Minister placed the statistics in the House replying to a tabled question from Awami League MP Didarul Alam (Chattogram-4). The highest 410 posts of teachers are vacant in Chittagong University, 346 vacant  in Rajshahi University, 314 vacant in Shahjalal Science and Technology University, 310 in Islamic University in Kushtia and 303 in Dhaka University. READ: Students to get new textbooks in time next year: Dipu Moni Besides, there are 242 vacant posts of teachers in Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), 213 vacant posts in Patuakhali Science and Technology University, 151 in Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, 150  in Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, 131 in Chattogram University of Science and Technology, 127 vacant posts in Jahangirnagar University, 114 in Bangladesh Agricultural University and 106 vacant posts in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agriculture University.

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md Zakir Hossain on Tuesday told Parliament that more than 7,000 posts of head teachers are vacant in government primary schools across the country.