-85 Pc of English & Math teachers do not have Bachelor degree
-Student of Mofswal area suffers most
-English and Math graduated unwilling to teach
Math and English knowledge is must proficiency if anyone wants to build up a higher career especially in Bangladesh. Almost everywhere from university admissions to job tests these two things are emphasized the most. Although the students of the country are the most backward in terms of skill acquisition in these two subjects. Educationists are blaming the lack of skilled teachers for this. They alleged that most of the teachers are teaching the students in these two subjects without acquiring proper expertise at the educational level.
Data collected by Bangladesh Bureau of Education Information and Statistics (BANBAIS) in 2023 from secondary schools in the country also revealed that about 85 percent of English and mathematics teachers in these schools do not have a bachelor's or master's degree in the relevant subject.
Educationists say that a large part of the teachers of these subjects in the country's schools, especially in Mofswal cities, do not have the required level of academic skills. Despite this, they are burdened with teaching subjects like English and Maths to students. According to Banbase data, the total number of English teachers in secondary schools in the country is 60 thousand 857. Among them, the number of teachers with bachelor's (honors) degree in English is 4 thousand 158, which is 6.83 percent of the total number of teachers. And the number of teachers with master's degree is 5 thousand 218, which is 8.57 percent of the total teachers.
Accordingly, 9 thousand 376 or 15.4 percent of English teachers have obtained bachelor's or master's degrees in the subject. And 84.6 percent do not have a bachelor's or master's degree in English. A large proportion of those currently teaching English have degrees in other subjects. Among them, 50.85 percent or 30 thousand 948 teachers had compulsory English of 100 marks at graduation level and 10.52 or 6 thousand 404 had English with 300 marks at graduation level. Besides, 18.05 percent or 10 thousand 982 teachers did not have English in their graduation. And 5.17 percent or 3 thousand 147 teachers passed HSC. Educationists say that a large number of talented students with bachelor's and master's degrees in English are currently not interested in teaching, and most of those who are entering teaching are not getting opportunities elsewhere. The same picture emerges in the field of mathematics, the total number of mathematics teachers in secondary schools is 64 thousand 147. Among them, the number of teachers with bachelor's (honors) degree in mathematics is 3 thousand 836, which is 5.98 percent of the total teachers. There are 4 thousand 643 people with master's degrees, which is 7.24 percent of the total teachers. Accordingly, only 13.22 percent of mathematics teachers have a bachelor's or master's degree in the subject. That is, 86.78 percent of teachers are teaching the subject to students without graduation or post-graduation in mathematics.
Most of those who teach mathematics today have studied mathematics in addition to other subjects at undergraduate level. Among them, 18.72 percent or 12 thousand 9 teachers studied physics and chemistry as well as mathematics at graduation level. 12.07 percent or 7 thousand 743 people studied mathematics with other subjects except physics and chemistry. Besides, 12.39 percent or 7 thousand 947 teachers had mathematics in higher secondary but did not have mathematics in B.Sc. 16.18 percent or 10 thousand 377 teachers did not have mathematics at degree (pass) level and 11.6 percent of teachers did not have mathematics at higher secondary level. And 5.31 or 3 thousand 406 teachers did not have mathematics at degree or HSC level. In the 2024 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations, Mathematics has the highest number of students failing compared to other subjects. In Mathematics, the combined failure rate of the nine General Education Boards and the Madrasa Education Board is 8.81 percent. According to the numbers, about 1 lakh 66 thousand 602 students have failed in the subject. Next was English. 4.77 students failed in English in nine boards.
Although teachers say that even those who have passed, the marks of a large section are not up to expectations. At the secondary level, more than half of the teachers are in sociology, religion, library science and physical education. On the other hand, against a total of 1 crore 13 lakh 31 thousand 143 students, there are 24 thousand 702 and 23 thousand 996 teachers in English and Mathematics respectively. As such, there is only one teacher for every 410 students in English and only one teacher for every 422 students in Mathematics. In this regard, the director of the secondary branch of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) Professor Syed Zafar Ali said, "This type of teacher may be appointed earlier. But the government is now much more conscious about the recruitment of teachers.
According to the recruitment policy, there is no opportunity to teach these subjects without studying English and Mathematics at undergraduate level. Earlier there were various questions about the qualifications of private school teachers. Now, due to recruitment through NTRC, proper educational qualification of teachers is being ensured in private schools as well. As a result of this process, the questions about the skills and qualifications of the teachers will be reduced.
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