Government has 28,832 vacant posts in its primary schools

The government primary schools across Bangladesh have 28,832 vacant posts, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Zakir Hossen has said.

These include 7,018 headmaster positions and 21,814 posts of assistant teachers as on December last year, the state minister told parliament on Tuesday.

Out of the vacant positions of headmaster, 4,166 can be filled up through promotion while direct recruitment through tests will be required for the rest 2,852, according to the state minister. 

The ministry sent a letter to the Public Service Commission for direct recruitment to 35 percent of the seats for headmasters, Zakir said.

But filling up the vacant headmaster’s posts is currently halted due to a court battle, he said.

The government is assigning assistant teachers based on seniority to perform the duties of headmasters, the state minister said.

It had sent appointment letters to candidates selected for 18,147 posts of assistant teacher and they will join soon, he said.

It hired 179,717 teachers to the schools from 2009 to June 2018, the state minister said.

Zakir claimed “comprehensive government success” in preventing primary education drop outs. The drop-out rate decreased to 18.6 percent in 2018 after growing to 39.8 percent in 2010.

The government has achieved the UN’s Millennium Development Goal in primary education, he added.