Teachers crowd into cities while rural schools remain empty

At Kargil Government Pilot High School in Sandwip upazila of Chattogram, there are 15 approved teacher posts. Of these, 12 are vacant. Although there are two approved posts each for important subjects such as Bangla, English and mathematics, there are currently no teachers working in any of these subjects. In contrast, Chattogram Collegiate School in Chattogram city has 10 English teachers against eight approved posts. This is the picture of two separate government schools in the same district.

An analysis of data from the Chattogram regional office of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) shows that a large number of approved posts have remained vacant for years at schools in remote and hard to reach areas. In contrast, some schools in cities have more teachers than their approved posts.

More Vacancies in Remote Areas

The Chattogram region of DSHE covers Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban, Feni and Noakhali districts. Of the 1,555 approved teacher posts at 52 government secondary schools in these seven districts, 558 are vacant. This means 35.88 percent of the total posts are vacant.

According to the statistics, the shortage of teachers is highest in the three hill districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban. Nearly half of the teacher posts at the government schools listed in these districts are vacant.

Among the plain land districts, 130 of the 303 approved posts at 12 government secondary schools in Noakhali are vacant. That means 43 percent of the teacher posts in the district are vacant.

In Cox’s Bazar, 64 of the 168 posts at six schools are vacant, accounting for 38.1 percent. In Feni, 33 of the 98 posts at two schools are vacant, accounting for 33.7 percent.

The overall situation in Chattogram district is somewhat better. However, 75 of the 463 posts at 13 schools in the district are vacant.

Additional Teachers in City Schools

While classes are being disrupted in remote areas due to a shortage of teachers, several government schools in Chattogram city present a different picture.

At Government Muslim High School, eight mathematics teachers are working against six approved posts. There are also five social science teachers against four approved posts.

Similarly, Chattogram Government High School has nine English teachers against eight approved posts. It also has nine mathematics teachers against six approved posts.

At Nasirabad Government High School, eight social science teachers are working against four approved posts.

Crisis in Teaching and Impact on Results

The direct impact of teacher vacancies is being felt in students’ classes and academic results. The highest number of vacant posts at the schools are in subjects such as English, mathematics, physical science, biology and social science. In many schools, a single teacher has to conduct classes in multiple subjects.

According to a 2024 report by the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), more than 80 percent of teachers in mathematics and English do not have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in their respective subjects.

The shortage of teachers and the lack of subject specific teachers were also reflected in the results of the latest 2026 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations.

This year, the pass rate in the Chattogram Education Board was 59.48 percent. Among the students who failed, 47 percent failed in English and mathematics alone.

All eight schools that failed to achieve a 100 percent pass rate were located in the hill and remote coastal areas.

What Officials Say

Mohammad Sohrab Hossain, assistant director (college) of the DSHE Chattogram regional office, said about the unequal distribution of teachers, “As everything has become city centered, teachers want to stay in cities. In some cases, people still face difficulties getting adequate civic facilities in the hill regions or remote areas. For this reason, teachers do not want to go to those areas.”

Educationist and Ekushey Padak recipient Abul Momen believes many teachers move to cities by using political influence after being appointed to vacant posts in remote areas.

He said, “Teachers do not want to stay in remote areas. If the government introduces special allowances to make their civic life easier, it could bring balance to the distribution of teachers between cities and hill regions. This would benefit students and the entire education system.”