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A severe shortage of teachers and school administrators is affecting government secondary schools across Bangladesh, with 66% of headteacher posts and 75% of assistant headteacher posts currently vacant.
According to data from the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), the country has 702 government secondary schools, but only 572 sanctioned headteacher posts. Of these, 379 are vacant.
The situation is also acute among assistant headteachers. Of 703 sanctioned posts, 528 remain unfilled. Meanwhile, 6,048 of 16,141 subject-teacher posts are vacant—about 37%.
The shortage is particularly visible in schools that were recently nationalised, where many required teaching posts have yet to be created.
Teachers say the vacancies are affecting both academic and administrative activities. In many schools, teachers are forced to take classes outside their areas of expertise to cover staffing gaps, leaving less time for lesson preparation.
At Rajbari Government High School, a century-old institution known for its academic reputation, all three posts of headteacher and assistant headteachers are vacant. Fourteen teaching posts are also unfilled.
“Teachers have to take classes in subjects other than their own because of the vacancies. This leaves little time to properly prepare for their own subjects, which affects the quality of education,” said the school’s assistant teacher Salauddin.
This year, the pass rate in the nine general education boards was 64.05%, the lowest in 19 years. Students performed particularly poorly in mathematics and English.
The shortage extends beyond schools to the officials responsible for monitoring secondary education. All 16 posts of school inspector and all 16 assistant school inspector posts are vacant. At the district level, 23 of 64 education officer posts are vacant, while all 64 assistant district education officer posts remain unfilled.
At the upazila level, 315 of 496 secondary education officer posts and 307 of 496 assistant secondary education officer posts are vacant.
DSHE officials acknowledged that the shortage is creating difficulties but said steps are being taken to address the problem.
Education experts warn that without adequate subject teachers, school leadership and field-level monitoring, efforts to improve the quality of secondary education will remain limited.