Single teacher struggles to manage 50 students at remote Sunamganj primary school
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A severe teacher shortage at the South Amjora Nurunnahar Government Primary School in Sunamganj’s Madhyanagar upazila has left 50 students effectively without adequate instruction, as a single educator struggles to manage six different grade levels simultaneously. This crisis, which has persisted for three years, intensified on July 1 when the school was left with only one functioning teacher to oversee the entire student body.
The school, established in 1991 and nationalized in 2013, is located in the remote haor region, roughly 12 kilometers from the upazila headquarters. Accessibility is a recurring challenge; during the monsoon season, boats remain the only viable method of transportation, a factor that complicates teacher retention and recruitment. Currently, the school has no permanent faculty of its own, forcing authorities to rely on ad-hoc attachments from neighboring institutions.
বিজ্ঞাপন
According to reports, two teachers were assigned to the school earlier this year to address the shortfall. However, one teacher failed to report for duty, citing the difficult commute and local conditions, and has since indicated an intent to file for the cancellation of his transfer order. This leaves Parvin Akter, a teacher attached from a nearby school, to bear the responsibility for all 50 students alone. Parents report that the lack of consistent instruction has resulted in minimal academic progress, with many children spending more time playing than learning.
The situation in South Amjora is emblematic of a broader educational crisis in the Madhyanagar upazila, where over 100 teaching positions remain vacant across 84 government primary schools. Official data indicates that 77 assistant teacher roles and 38 headmaster positions are currently unfilled. In five of these schools, the shortage is so acute that the administration has been forced to attach a single teacher from a neighboring school just to maintain operations.
বিজ্ঞাপন
In the case of the nearby Amjora Government Primary School, student enrollment has plummeted from 113 to 73 over the last year, a decline administrators attribute directly to the lack of teaching staff. Teachers stationed in these remote regions frequently cite the lack of local infrastructure, difficult transit, and challenging living conditions as primary reasons for the high turnover rates.
Sunamganj District Primary Education Officer, Mohan Lal, acknowledged the regional crisis, stating that the government is currently processing promotions for headmasters and new appointments for assistant teachers. However, local education officials, including Madhyanagar Upazila Education Officer Dilowar Hossain, noted that the geographical challenges of the haor region continue to pose significant hurdles to staffing, leaving students in the area to endure a systemic cycle of academic neglect.
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