PABNA, July 31 (V7N) — Authorities have issued show-cause notices to headteachers and assistant teachers of 367 government primary schools across nine upazilas of Pabna district for failing to achieve expected learning outcomes among students.

The notices were issued by the respective upazila education officers between July 20 and 26. Pabna District Primary Education Officer Md. Ashraful Kabir confirmed the matter on Thursday, saying teachers have been given three to five working days to submit written explanations.

According to the district primary education office, the schools receiving notices include 74 in Santhia, 59 in Atgharia, 54 in Pabna Sadar, 50 in Bera, 48 in Chatmohar, 41 in Sujanagar, 23 in Ishwardi, 11 in Bhangura, and seven in Faridpur upazila.

The notices stated that under a 180-day action plan, schools were expected to ensure that third-grade students could read Bangla fluently, fourth-grade students could perform the four basic mathematical operations — addition, subtraction, multiplication and division — and fifth-grade students could read English fluently by June 30.

However, the targeted learning outcomes were not achieved in the listed schools. The notices also said preliminary evidence suggested that effective steps were not taken despite repeated instructions and monitoring.

The teachers have been asked to explain within three working days why departmental action should not be taken against them for alleged negligence. The notices warned that unsatisfactory explanations could lead to further administrative action.

Officials said education authorities inspected 1,136 government primary schools across the district in June. During the inspections, learning deficiencies were found in 367 schools, leading to the issuance of the notices.

A district education office source said students' practical skills would be assessed in the next phase, and further administrative action could be taken if satisfactory progress is not found.

The affected schools include not only institutions in remote and river island areas but also several well-known schools in upazila towns. Officials said some of these schools have relatively fewer teacher shortages but still failed to achieve expected learning outcomes.

For example, Fateh Mohammadpur Government Primary School in Ishwardi Municipality has 16 teachers for 623 students, almost matching the government staffing structure. However, the school was also included in the notice list as fewer than 50 percent of students achieved success in mathematics.

Several headteachers expressed dissatisfaction over the notices, citing teacher shortages, irregular student attendance, lack of parental awareness, and challenges in remote areas as major barriers to improving educational outcomes.

Md. Moniruzzaman Shipon, headteacher of Char Natibpur Government Primary School in Bera upazila, said his school has only three teachers for more than 300 students, making regular classes and student assessments difficult.

Md. Mokbul Hossain, headteacher of New Mirpur Government Primary School, said assessments conducted before the scheduled deadline did not reflect the actual situation and stressed the need for effective measures to ensure regular student attendance.

Some teachers also alleged that they were given show-cause notices three months before the October 31 deadline set for achieving learning outcomes. They further claimed that the notices were publicly disclosed before many teachers had received them.

District Primary Education Officer Md. Ashraful Kabir said the government is giving priority to improving primary education standards. He said several coordination meetings had been held to implement the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) programme effectively.

"After receiving and reviewing the teachers' written explanations, necessary action will be taken," he said, adding that teachers could face stricter measures if students fail to achieve basic learning skills.

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