The upazila education office in Chatmohar, Pabna, has issued show-cause notices to the head teachers and more than 100 assistant teachers of 49 government primary schools, asking them to explain why they failed to carry out a foundational literacy and numeracy program.
Chatmohar upazila primary education officer Md Abdul Gani confirmed the notices on Thursday evening.
He said the notices were issued because the schools had not successfully implemented the foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) program for students, which the district primary education office launched a few months ago.
According to the upazila education office, under a 180-day action plan, targets had been set to ensure Bengali reading skills for third-graders, the four basic arithmetic operations — addition, subtraction, multiplication and division — for fourth-graders, and fluent English reading skills for fifth-graders by June 30. The step was taken because the schools did not meet those targets.
The notices said that despite repeated instructions and monitoring, the teachers appeared to have failed to take effective action. They were asked to explain in writing within three working days why departmental action should not be taken against them for negligence of duty.
The schools are spread across the municipal seat and the Bilchalan, Mathurapur, Haripur, Mulgram, Failjana, Parshwadanga and Dibigram unions of the upazila.
Several teachers who received notices said parents’ indifference, students’ lack of attention, teacher shortages at many schools, extra administrative work, transport problems in remote areas and irregular student attendance had all hampered efforts to meet the targets. They said they would explain these factors in writing.
Md Abdul Gani said notices had gone to all teachers at the 49 schools — some with four teachers, some with three and many with more. Further steps would be taken if the responses were not satisfactory, he said.
Across Pabna’s nine upazilas, all teachers at 367 government primary schools have been served show-cause notices for failing to achieve the desired learning outcomes in Bengali, English and mathematics.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report