DSB Government Primary School in Narail Sadar Upazila, established in 1954 and nationalized in 1974, currently serves 132 students. However, for the past two years, the institution has been operating without a permanent headmaster.
This is not an isolated incident. Out of the 495 government primary schools in the Narail district, 280—approximately 57 percent—are currently running with acting headmasters. According to the District Primary Education Office, numerous assistant teacher positions also remain vacant across the district.
This severe personnel shortage forces assistant teachers to take on heavy administrative duties, which is significantly disrupting classroom instruction.
"Since taking charge as the acting headmaster, I am frequently tied up with office work. As a result, my teaching time in the classroom is heavily disrupted," said Mahmuda Parveen, an assistant teacher at DSB Government Primary School.
Her colleague, Sonia Khanam, noted that because the acting headmaster is often away for official and administrative duties, the remaining teachers struggle to manage both the classes and the school's daily operations due to the overall staff shortage.
The burden of dual roles also comes without adequate compensation. Kripa Sikder has been serving as the acting headmaster of Tularampur Government Primary School since 2018. Despite carrying the responsibilities of a headmaster for eight years, she still receives an assistant teacher's salary and is denied the second-class rank and benefits prescribed for official headmasters.
"The responsibility belongs to the headmaster, but the benefits belong to the assistant teacher," Sikder said. "We have been working like this for years, and the frustration is growing."
Teachers report that maintaining school records, submitting government data online, coordinating meetings, and managing the office leave them with insufficient time for their students. This problem is exceptionally severe in schools already suffering from a baseline teacher shortage.
Parents have echoed these concerns, noting that a headmaster is the center of a school's academic and administrative leadership. When the post is vacant for extended periods, the school's overall management weakens, placing an unfair burden on the remaining staff and ultimately harming the students' education.
District Primary Education Officer Jahangir Alam acknowledged the crisis. He stated that the department is aware of the vacant posts, which have been stalled for a long time due to legal complexities regarding promotions.
"We are trying to manage the situation by appointing acting headmasters," Alam said. "The Department of Education has been informed, and we hope these legal issues will be resolved soon."
