Primary education in Kishoreganj’s haor region is struggling with vacancies among headteachers and assistant teachers in Astagram, Itna and Mithamoin upazilas. Of 230 government primary schools serving 46,429 pre-primary to grade-five pupils, 149 headteacher posts are vacant, or about 65 percent. The report was published on August 21, 2026. Residents have called for swift appointments and solutions to other school infrastructure problems.

Only 81 headteachers are working against 230 posts, while 107 of 1,151 assistant teacher posts are officially vacant. However, 149 assistant teachers are performing acting or additional headteacher duties, leaving 256 assistant teacher posts effectively vacant. Parents and teachers said the shortages disrupt regular classes and administration. Schools also face classroom shortages, two-shift operations, limited playgrounds and recreation facilities, and inadequate wash blocks and safe drinking water.

Astagram has 53 vacant headteacher posts, Itna has 46, and Mithamoin has 50. An Astagram education officer said recruitment had been stalled for years by a case concerning assistant teachers’ promotions, but a ruling was issued in July. The district education officer said promotion lists for headteacher posts are being sent to the ministry, with placements expected after clearance.

Kharkharia No. 2 Government Primary School in Jorgachh, Romna ইউনিয়ন of Chilmari upazila, Kurigram, has been conducting lessons on a Shaheed Minar platform, under tin sheds and sometimes outdoors for about 10 months. Its old unsafe building was declared abandoned in 2025 and demolished through auction on November 12, 2025, but funding for a proposed new five-room building has not arrived. The school has 181 students and 10 teachers.

Students sit crowded inside temporary tin structures, where intense heat has made conditions difficult, according to the report. Teaching is disrupted during rain, while teachers and guardians say the prolonged lack of classrooms is affecting children’s regular studies. They also cited concerns about illness and dehydration during extended time in hot tin sheds, as well as the risk of students getting wet in rain.

The school was established in 1952 and nationalised in 1973. Officials said proposals for a new building were submitted, but funding was unavailable after the PD-4 project ended. The upazila education officer said two temporary rooms were being arranged and a process was under way for Tk300,000 to build more rooms. The district primary education officer said the school may receive priority under the upcoming PD-5 project.

Online applications for transfers of teachers at MPO-listed private schools and colleges began on Friday and will remain open until August 27, according to the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education. Applicants may select up to three preferred institutions in order of choice. Applications will be reviewed through automated software under the revised transfer policy formulated in 2026.

Teachers may apply for vacancies within their own district. If no position is vacant there, they may apply for vacant posts in any district within their division. Applications are also allowed for a spouse’s home district or the district where a spouse works at a government, semi-government, autonomous or MPO-listed institution.

Teachers become eligible after completing two years of service and must work at a new posting for at least two years before seeking another transfer. Those with suspended MPO status, temporary suspension or criminal cases cannot apply. Institution heads must release transferred teachers within 10 days of an order, while teachers must join their new workplace within 10 days of release.

Sidratul Muntaha Nisa has been named the top student across Matlab North and Matlab South upazilas after securing the highest marks in the 2026 SSC examination. A science student at Jamila Khatun High School in Matlab North, Chandpur, she earned a Golden GPA-5 with 1,186 marks out of 1,250. The report was published on August 21, 2026.

She is the daughter of Mohammad Shamsul Haque from Induria village in Sultanabad Union. Both of her parents are government primary school teachers, and she is the eldest daughter in the family. School headteacher Moniruzzaman Mohan described her as a highly talented student who consistently performed well and had achievements at upazila, district and divisional levels.

Muntaha expressed gratitude to Allah, her parents and teachers for her result. She said she wants to become a doctor and serve people in the future. Her parents have asked everyone to pray for their daughter.

The UK government has announced plans for a new qualification in England to help secondary-school students who fail to achieve the required grade 4 in GCSE English or mathematics. The proposed level-1 qualification, called “Stepping Stone”, would target students who received grade 2 or below when taking GCSEs for the first time. The announcement was reported on August 21, 2026.

In England, 16-year-olds who do not reach grade 4 in English or maths must continue studying and retaking the subjects. This year, only one in seven students retaking maths achieved grade 4 or higher, while one in six passed English. Although about 70 percent of 16-year-olds passed both subjects, around 620,000 did not achieve grade 4 in at least one.

Education Secretary Lucy Powell said the current system leaves many students trapped in repeated exam cycles and that the new route could build foundations for higher education, technical training or apprenticeships. School and college leaders called the plan disappointing and ineffective, arguing that assessment methods need change. Experts also warned that disadvantaged students should not be pushed into lower-quality educational routes.

The Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) plans to expand the city’s area from 155 square kilometres to 1,255 square kilometres through a 25-year master plan designed around projected population needs to 2050. About 90 percent of the plan has been completed. The authority began a two-month public hearing on August 2, which will continue until September 30, and expects to publish the plan’s gazette by December.

CDA is consulting more than 100 individuals and institutions, with letters already sent to 50 organisations. Residents can submit views at the CDA office or online. Officials said the draft designates 31.92 percent of land for agriculture and 14.48 percent as environmentally sensitive, while prioritising protection of 39,845 ponds, reservoirs and hills. New building approvals and construction in hilly areas are prohibited.

Participants have raised concerns about land classifications, roads shown on residential plots and green-zone designations. CDA says opinions will be reviewed before revisions. The plan includes a satellite city in Anwara, covers eight upazilas, and proposes planned towns, tourism development and heritage conservation measures.

Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation’s new pink bus service, operated entirely by women drivers, assistants and conductors, is seeing stronger passenger demand during morning and evening office hours but low occupancy at other times. The service was introduced to support safer travel for women, with buses operating in Dhaka and planned routes also covering Chattogram and Bogura. On the third day after inauguration, drivers said many buses were travelling with vacant seats outside peak periods.

Passengers said they lack reliable information about bus routes, schedules and stops, sometimes forcing them to wait for long periods. Women commuters and students welcomed the service, saying it could reduce fears of harassment, unwanted touching and overcrowding on regular public transport. Drivers attributed lower off-peak use to limited buses, route constraints and public unfamiliarity, while expressing hope that demand will grow.

BRTC plans to launch 50 pink buses within three months under the government’s 180-day work plan. Initially, 14 buses will run on 13 routes, including 10 in Dhaka. Fares are collected through POS machines, while e-ticketing, vehicle tracking and some CCTV coverage have been introduced. Transport stakeholders nevertheless cited previous unsuccessful women-only bus initiatives and questioned the new service’s long-term viability.

Rakhi Rashidun Nahar, also known as Bobita Khatun, president of the Darshana thana women’s Jamaat unit, died on Thursday afternoon while receiving treatment at the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital in Dhaka. Her death came 58 hours after the death of her husband, Saudi-based expatriate Safar Uddin, from a brain stroke. The couple was from Shyampur village under Darshana police station in Chuadanga.

Safar Uddin, 40, had been working in Abha, Saudi Arabia, and suffered a brain stroke at his workplace on August 10. He was admitted to a local hospital and died at about 5am on August 18 after nine days of treatment. After learning of her husband’s illness on August 10, Bobita Khatun, 35, suffered a brain stroke and was admitted to the Dhaka hospital in critical condition.

The couple’s son and daughter have lost both parents within a short period. Chuadanga-2 lawmaker and district Jamaat ameer Md Ruhul Amin, along with Chuadanga-1 lawmaker Advocate Masud Parvez Russell, visited the family at the Dhaka hospital. The family has started procedures to bring Safar Uddin’s body back from Saudi Arabia, while Jamaat says it is seeking administrative assistance.

Mastul Foundation says its Mastul Mehmankhana initiative is providing free, cooked nutritious meals daily to more than a thousand people at 20 designated locations across Dhaka. The programme targets hungry, low-income and disadvantaged people, including street children, rickshaw pullers, day labourers, workers and elderly people. Meals are prepared in the foundation’s own kitchen and delivered by separate volunteer teams to the designated points.

Founder and Executive Director Kazi Riaz Rahman said feeding a hungry person is a humanitarian and moral responsibility, rather than merely charity. He said the initiative seeks to ensure that those receiving food are treated with dignity rather than as recipients of alms. Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Akmal Hossain Azad described the programme as an effort to protect human dignity and said every visitor is regarded as an honoured guest.

The foundation called on government and private institutions, corporate bodies, donors, volunteers and financially capable people to support expansion of the initiative beyond the capital. Mastul Foundation is a registered, non-profit, non-political volunteer humanitarian organisation that has worked for disadvantaged people and children for more than a decade.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has transferred and appointed five pilots to several operational and training positions, according to separate office orders issued by its Administration and Human Resources Directorate. The orders, issued on August 19, direct the officials concerned to take the necessary steps to assume duties at their new workplaces and state that the changes take effect immediately.

Line pilot Mohammad Abdur Rahman Ahmed has been appointed deputy chief of training. Deputy chief of training Saleq Aladin has been moved to deputy chief of technical, while deputy chief of technical Anita Rahman has been assigned as a line pilot.

In a separate order, chief of technical operations Tanvir Khurshid has been transferred to a line pilot role. Line pilot Golam Kaysar Rashedin has been appointed chief of technical operations. Biman’s directors, general managers, chiefs, chief engineers and relevant departments have been notified of the transfers and appointments.

Noakhali Science and Technology University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Golam Rabbani urged students to reduce their dependence on digital devices, saying controlled use is necessary for success. He made the remarks on Thursday afternoon at a reception for GPA-5 achievers at Raipur Kazi Faruqi School and College auditorium in Lakshmipur.

Addressing the students, Rabbani said devices are necessary but consume significant time. He said students use them more negatively than positively and also waste time beyond considerations of positive or negative use. He urged them to control their device use and reduce addiction.

The reception was organised by the Professor Kazi Faruqi Welfare Trust under the theme, “You will be a dream-coloured sunrise, spread brilliance across the world with the pledge of countless hopes.” Organisers said nearly 700 students who obtained GPA-5 in the SSC examination were honoured. The event was chaired by trust president Professor Saima Binte Faruqi and attended by local officials, education representatives and others.

Four assistant teachers at Shalmara Government Primary School in Bishwambharpur upazila of Sunamganj have received show-cause notices for allegedly ending classes before the scheduled time and leaving their workplace. District Primary Education Officer Mohan Lal Das signed the notices on Wednesday afternoon, and confirmed the matter on Thursday.

The teachers named in the notices are Shyamali Das, Rahmata Akhtar, Rumi Talukdar and Archana Devi. The notice states that at 2:45pm on Wednesday, the school was dismissed before the prescribed time and teachers left the premises. It described leaving before scheduled hours and being absent from the workplace as evidence of serious irresponsibility and negligence.

The four teachers have been instructed to submit satisfactory written explanations to the District Primary Education Office within three working days. The notices ask why departmental action should not be taken against them under the Government Employees (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 2018. Mohan Lal Das said the teachers were asked to explain within the stated deadline why administrative measures should not be pursued.

Education at the historic Government Priti Primary School in Bogura town is being severely disrupted by bureaucratic complications, land encroachment and inadequate infrastructure, according to a report published on August 20, 2026. Classes are being held in a tin-shed structure after the school’s abandoned one-storey building was demolished. Part of its limited playground has also been occupied by construction materials for a multi-storey building.

The school was established in 1973 and nationalised in 1978. Its old building was demolished in 2013, with a new building planned but never completed. Of the 36 decimals of land allocated to the school, 19 decimals have allegedly been occupied by influential local people. Student enrolment has fallen from more than 300 to 72, while the school has five teachers against six posts.

Upazila Primary Education Officer Rezaul Islam visited the school on Wednesday following complaints and observed the playground occupation. A local BNP leader and former female councillor promised that the field would be cleared quickly. District Primary Education Officer Rezaowan Hossain said education engineering authorities were assigned to construct the building, but work has not started, and staff were sent to examine the construction materials stored on the field.

Bus and truck services on all routes from Chapainawabganj were suspended on Thursday morning after members of the district Truck, Tank Lorry and Covered Van Workers Union began a work stoppage. The disruption followed a longstanding dispute with the District Motor Workers Union over collections from buses said to be used for workers’ welfare.

The conflict intensified after allegations that several bus workers were assaulted by members of the Motor Workers Union on Tuesday. Leaders of the two organisations met under police supervision on Wednesday night, but no settlement was reached. Truck union president Saidur Rahman alleged that the other union illegally collects money by stopping buses on the road.

District Motor Workers Union general secretary Abdur Rauf Julmat denied the allegation, saying its organisation collects funds from buses according to rules. Additional Superintendent of Police Ekramul Haque said both sides remained firm in their positions during the meeting. He added that police told both organisations that no extortion would be permitted on the roads.

Bus services on the Rajbari-Daulatdia-Faridpur route resumed at 8am on Thursday after being suspended for about 44 and a half hours. The disruption began after noon on Tuesday following a dispute between Golden Line Transport and owners of local buses. Services restarted after the administration assured operators of security, though the underlying dispute remains unresolved.

The stoppage caused severe hardship for passengers in Rajbari and Faridpur districts, with many using three-wheelers, Mahendras and autorickshaws at higher fares. The conflict concerns Golden Line’s operations through Rajbari. A previous decision made at the Dhaka divisional commissioner’s office allowed the company to operate a maximum of four trips through the district.

Rajbari transport owners allege Golden Line increased its buses and trips after the government changed on August 5, at times operating nearly 28 trips a day. Local workers blocked extra buses on Tuesday, while Rajbari buses were reportedly stopped in Faridpur. The district administration said it would hold talks with the parties soon to seek a permanent solution.