All Teachers Across 367 Government Primary Schools Issued Show-Cause Notices in Pabna

The Directorate of Primary Education has issued show-cause notices to all headteachers and assistant teachers across 367 government primary schools in Pabna district for failing to meet foundational learning targets under the government's 180-day action plan.

Pabna District Primary Education Officer (DPEO) Md. Ashraful Kabir confirmed on Thursday morning (July 30) that the notices were dispatched between July 20 and July 26 following inspections across 1,136 government primary schools in June.

According to district education office figures, the 367 show-cased schools are distributed across nine upazilas:

• Santhia: 74 schools

• Atgharia: 59 schools

• Pabna Sadar: 54 schools

• Bera: 50 schools

• Chatmohar: 48 schools

• Sujanagar: 41 schools

• Ishwardi: 23 schools

• Bhangura: 11 schools

• Faridpur: 7 schools

Under the 180-day Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) action plan scheduled for completion by June 30, institutions were mandated to ensure:

• Grade 3: Bengali reading fluency.

• Grade 4: Mastery of four basic arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).

• Grade 5: Fluent English reading skills.

The official notice highlighted that despite repeated administrative directives and monitoring, educators failed to take effective steps to achieve target learning outcomes. Teachers have been asked to submit written explanations within a stipulated timeframe explaining why departmental disciplinary action should not be initiated against them for negligence of duty.

Official sources noted that show-cased institutions include not only remote Char-region schools but also several well-reputed urban primary schools. For instance, Fateh Mohammadpur Government Primary School in Ishwardi Municipality—which has 16 teachers for 623 students—was show-cased after student success rates in mathematics dropped below 50 percent.

Teachers Highlight Staff Shortages and Procedural Flaws

Meanwhile, several headteachers expressed frustration, pointing to severe staff shortages, irregular attendance, low parental awareness, and geographical barriers as major impediments to meeting targets.

Md. Moniruzzaman Shipon, Headmaster of Char Natibpur Government Primary School in Bera, stated that his institution has only three teachers for over 300 students. Md. Makbul Hossain, Headmaster of New Mirpur Government Primary School, contended that evaluating students nearly three months ahead of the final October 31 deadline provided an inaccurate picture of actual progress. Furthermore, some teachers raised allegations against Bera Assistant Education Officer Krishna Chandra Sarkar, claiming evaluations were conducted through unauthorized proxies rather than direct official visits.

Reiterating the administration's stance, DPEO Md. Ashraful Kabir emphasized that primary educational standards remain a top priority for the government. "Written responses will be carefully reviewed before taking further steps," he stated, warning that teachers could face stricter administrative penalties if practical evaluations in the next phase reveal continued deficiencies in student learning levels.