The government will expedite recruitment to fill around 34,500 vacant headteacher posts in government primary schools.
Discussions will be held with the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) to this end, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has said.
He said completing the recruitment process quickly would strengthen the administration and leadership of government primary schools.
The state minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists after visiting two government primary schools in Old Dhaka on Monday, 26 October.
He said the government was giving priority to promoting experienced and skilled teachers. The necessary administrative process for promotions has begun in accordance with the existing recruitment rules.
The post of headteacher at a government primary school falls under Grade 10 of the national pay scale. Therefore, recruitment examinations for the position must be conducted through the BPSC.
The state minister added that once recruitment and promotions for headteacher posts were completed, many assistant teacher positions would become vacant, creating opportunities for large-scale recruitment of new assistant teachers.
Promotions for assistant teachers had been suspended for a long time. Following 13 years of legal complications, a court verdict has cleared the way for promotions. As a result, more than 36,000 assistant teachers across the country are now eligible for promotion to headteacher positions.
Meanwhile, 14,384 new teachers have recently been recruited as assistant teachers. The newly appointed teachers have joined their respective schools and started teaching.
According to sources at the Directorate of Primary Education, when assistant teachers are promoted to headteacher positions, their previous posts will become vacant. At the same time, new headteachers will be recruited through the BPSC.
Once both processes are completed, thousands of assistant teacher positions will become vacant, making it possible to issue another large-scale recruitment circular for assistant teachers.