School without teachers: 60 children left in lurch as the only 2 teachers resign

The education of around 60 children living in Sonaichhari union's Madhyam Sonaichhari Tripurapara, located at the foothills in Chattogram's Sitakunda upazila, hangs in the balance as the only primary school in the area remains closed since February following the resignation of the only two teachers it had. 

The two teachers who had been running the school resigned due to their salaries not being paid for ten months. 

With no other school nearby, parents are now worried about their children's education and future.

The Sonaichari Tripurapara Primary School was built in 2018 under a project implemented by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). 

The PMO allocated Tk3.7 lakh to the Sitakunda upazila administration in June 2022 for three years' salary of the two teachers. However, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) did not pay the teachers, leading to their resignations.

According to the UNO, Md Shahadat Hossain, the teachers used to travel long distances to get to the school, which made it inconvenient for them to attend regularly. Due to their long absence, the teachers were not paid their salaries.

"I requested them to be regular in the school but they asked for a raise in the salary as they said Tk5,000 per month is too low at present. But the upazila administration does not have enough funds to raise their salaries as the PMO will not allot any more funds for the school. It also said the school has to generate income. So they resigned," he added.

"We are looking for new teachers who live near the school. Hopefully, we will get teachers soon," the UNO further added.

The two teachers – Tultul Akhter and Priyanka Rani – said they used to take classes even amid Covid-19 until the government ordered a closure of all educational institutions across the country to stop the spread of the virus. 

"Despite the non-payment of our salaries for 10 months, we tried our best to continue classes so that the students' studies were not hampered. My colleague Priyanka also took classes during her maternity. The school is three kilometres away from our house, and it was difficult to come to school through the rough hilly paths," said Tultul Akhter.

"With a salary of only Tk5,000, we could not even bear our conveyance cost. We repeatedly requested a salary increase as we were struggling to run the family, but neither the upazila administration nor the chairman listened to us. So we had no other way but to resign," she added.

She also said that there is no office assistant in the school. They have to do all the work themselves. If the school needed something, they had to purchase it with their own money. There is no fan or electricity in the school. 

Teacher Priyanka Rani Nath said, "Life has become a burden due to rising commodity prices. Moreover, even if we buy a broom for the school, we have to buy it with our money. We repeatedly informed the administration about our problems but it did not pay attention.  Those in the administration also said we would not get our arrears."

Kanchan Tripura, a community leader of Tripura Para, told TBS, "The upazila administration has not looked after the school since its establishment. I planted trees and flower plants in the school on my initiative. I also kept the school premises clean."

If the school remains closed frequently, the children's education will be hampered and they will lose interest in learning. The government should take initiatives in this regard, he added.