United News of Bangladesh

Academic and administrative activities at 63 out of 113 government-run primary schools in Sonargaon upazila of Narayanganj district are severely hampered, as more than half of these institutions have been running for years without permanent head teachers. The leadership vacuum has led to a major crisis in primary education, deeply concerning parents and local communities about the quality of instruction for the country’s future generations. Currently, locals said, assistant teachers are forced to operate as acting headmasters, struggling to balance critical administrative duties with their primary responsibility of classroom teaching. They said this dual role is proving unsustainable and is directly disrupting regular education. Morsheda Akhter, the acting head of Parameshwardi Government Primary School, shared the heavy burden. “At least 10 days every month I have to remain busy with official work at the upazila office, leaving classes seriously disrupted,” she said. Echoing this frustration, Muslima Akhter, acting head of Amgaon Bargao Government Primary School, noted she is required to be at the upazila office from the third to the ninth of each month. Consequently, she cannot conduct regular classes, which significantly harms students’ studies. Adviser Bidhan Ranjan Roy emphasises urgent need to improve quality of primary education Shah Alam, acting head of Ladhurchar Government Primary School, corroborated the sentiment, stating that the immense administrative workload leaves him with little time for classroom teaching. The problem is not new for many schools. At Tekpara Government Primary School, acting head teacher Saleha Akhter revealed that the school has been without a head teacher for a significant three years. With a minimal staff of only four teachers, she explained, “it has become very difficult to run the school properly, and students’ learning is suffering.” Parents are increasingly worried. Rabiul Islam, the father of a fifth grader, lamented that teachers are "Overstretched and one teacher often has to handle multiple classes at the same time. This situation is directly impacting the quality of education provided.” According to the upazila primary education office, the root of the crisis lies in a centralised administrative bottleneck. Law enacted to govern National Academy of Primary Education Sonargaon Upazila Education Officer Shafiqul Islam Sarkar acknowledged the gravity of the situation, saying that the recruitment and promotion of head teachers is a national matter. “Unless promotions are cleared centrally, local vacancies cannot be filled. This has aggravated the crisis,” he added. Guardians and local community members, expressing grave concern over the situation, have urgently called upon the authorities concerned to fill the vacant posts with qualified teachers soon to ensure smooth education and secure the future of the nation’s students.

 A narrow 40-year-old bridge at Chengakandi in Sonargaon upazila has turned into the source of agony for commuters.   This bridge, now old, rickety and risky, was constructed over a small canal that has long been filled up in Pirojpur union. Accidents occur regularly on the bridge due to its dilapidated condition.   The bridge is located just beside the road leading to Chengakandi, Mridhakandi, Nagergaon and Chohissa villages of Pirojpur union on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway. It sticks out like a sore thumb.   On one side under the bridge is the boundary wall of Sony SR Company while a sawmill’s road occupies the other side. From the lowland left unoccupied, one can hardly say a canal or a stream ever existed here. No water reaches the canal from high tide even during the monsoon.   The bridge is so narrow that only one rickshaw can cross it at a time. When one rickshaw enters the bridge, the rickshaw at the other end must wait. As a result, quarrels and brawls often break out.   Sometimes pedestrians are injured by rickshaws and motorcycles crossing the bridge. Passengers on rickshaws also get hurt when the rickshaw falls into the ditch through the broken railings.   Locals, who spoke to the correspondent, said the bridge is not needed anymore, and suggested building a road in its stead to facilitate smooth commuting.   “The bridge was built almost 40 years ago for pedestrians. As the roads improved, people started crossing the bridge on vehicles,” said Nowab Prodhan, a resident of Chengakandi village.   “No step has been taken even after we approached the ward member and union parishad chairman numerous times to tear down the bridge and build a road,” he said.   Nuruzzaman Nuru, member of ward number 5, said Chairman Masudur Rahman Masum is aware of the situation and accused him of not doing anything.   Pirojpur Union Parishad Chairman Masum could not be reached for comments.