Over 20,000 teachers teach English, mathematics despite graduating in other disciplines

A total of 9,982 teachers who teach English at secondary schools across the country did not study English at the undergraduate level. The situation is similar in mathematics. Among teachers who teach mathematics, 10,169 did not study the subject at the undergraduate level.

These findings have emerged from the Bangladesh Education Statistics 2025 report published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS). Overall, the report shows that more than 20,000 teachers teach English and mathematics despite having graduated in other subjects.

There are also significant gaps in teachers' professional training, apart from subject-specific qualifications. Nearly 40 per cent of teachers working at the secondary level have no professional training such as a Bachelor of Education (BEd), Master of Education (MEd) or Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd).

Teachers and academicians said that secondary school teachers are recruited on a subject-specific basis. However, due to a shortage of subject-specific teachers, many schools have to assign teachers of other subjects to take English and mathematics classes as well.

This affects the quality of teaching in schools and leaves students with learning gaps. As a result, many students have to spend additional money on coaching and private tuition outside school to prepare for examinations and pass them.

The BANBEIS report provides data on the number of teachers in government and non-government secondary schools across various subjects, including Bangla, English, mathematics, social science, physical science and biological science. It separately presents the educational qualifications of teachers taking classes in English and mathematics.

Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud Sohel told Prothom Alo that schools face an overall shortage of teachers, not just a shortage of professionally trained ones. Discussions are underway on how to recruit teachers quickly. At the same time, necessary initiatives are being taken with an emphasis on professional training.

Khan Moinuddin Al Mahmud said a special initiative has been taken through Khan Academy Bangladesh to improve the standard of mathematics education among secondary school students and enhance teachers' skills. He said there were plans to introduce a system under which people with degrees in education could be recruited as teachers at primary and secondary schools in the future.

According to the BANBEIS report, 64,253 teachers teach English at the secondary level. Of them, 9,982 hold bachelor's degrees but did not study English at the undergraduate level. In addition, 4,212 teachers have passed the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination. The remaining nearly 50,000 teachers hold bachelor's, honours or master's degrees with English as a subject.

A total of 67,697 teachers teach mathematics. Of them, 10,169 hold pass bachelor's degrees but did not study mathematics. In other words, mathematics was not among their undergraduate subjects. Nearly 29,000 teachers studied mathematics at the bachelor's or master's level. Among the rest, some teachers did not study mathematics at either the degree or higher secondary level, while others studied it only at the higher secondary level.

A bachelor's degree is the minimum qualification required to become a secondary school teacher. A BANBEIS official told Prothom Alo that some schools recruit a number of teachers on a temporary basis because of an inadequate number of teachers. Some of these teachers have only passed the HSC examination.

An analysis of students' public examination results also reveals weaknesses in English and mathematics. This year's Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination recorded a pass rate of 64.05 per cent across the nine general education boards, the lowest in 19 years. The number of students achieving GPA-5 also fell by nearly 19,000 compared with the previous year.

The pass rate in English was below 80 per cent in eight of the nine general education boards, with the exception of Cumilla. Results in mathematics were also relatively poor in several boards. As both subjects are compulsory, failures in these subjects affected the overall pass rate.

Weak foundations in English and mathematics at the secondary level also affect students' subsequent academic lives. Even after entering higher education, many students struggle with basic communication in English.

According to BANBEIS data, the country has 16,737 secondary schools with 243,557 teachers. Nearly 65 per cent of them have professional qualifications such as a Bachelor of Education (BEd), Master of Education (MEd) or Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd). This means around 35 per cent of teachers lack such training.

There are more than 25,000 teachers at 2,474 junior secondary schools (Classes VI to VIII). Only 19.52 per cent of them have professional training.

There are also 1,556 school-and-college institutions that offer secondary-level education. More than 35,000 teachers work at the secondary level in these institutions, and 51 per cent of them have professional training.

Overall, nearly 60 per cent of teachers at the secondary level have professional training. This means around 40 per cent lack such training. Nearly 8.64 million students are currently enrolled at the secondary level across the country.

Professor SM Hafizur Rahman of the Institute of Education and Research at the University of Dhaka told Prothom Alo that professional training and certification should be mandatory before teachers join the profession. At present, people may become teachers after completing bachelor's and master's degrees and begin teaching with only a basic understanding of the profession.

However, professional training is essential to develop the competence required for teaching. At the same time, subject-specific teachers must be recruited as soon as possible, he added.