KATHMANDU: Community schools are grappling with a severe shortage of teachers for science, mathematics and English subjects.
According to school principals, they have been unable to fill these positions despite repeated vacancy notices.
The shortage of teachers for these core subjects stems from a growing disinterest among science, math, and English graduates in pursuing teaching careers. Many opt for other professions or pursue higher education abroad which has created a talent drain in the education sector.
The examinations for secondary and lower secondary level teaching positions conducted by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) see less competition in these three subjects (science, mathematics, and English) compared to others. TSC typically advertises these positions once a year. When a teacher retires, schools often hire temporary contract teachers to maintain the continuity of education. However, many schools are now struggling even to find contract teachers to fill these positions.
Nagardanda Secondary School in Nawalparasi East could not fill the vacant position of science teacher despite publishing a vacancy notice thrice. “We published vacancy notice thrice, but barely received any applications,” Principal Man Bahadur Baral said. “We are forced to use teachers from other subjects to cover science classes.”
The position has been lying vacant for over a year, according to Baral.
The situation is equally dire at Janata Secondary School in Dataura of Madhyabindu-3 of Nawalparasi East. “We have published vacancy notice for mathematics teacher thrice. But we have not been able to fill the position,” Principal Sun Kumari Mahato said. She added that the school was relying on lower-level teachers to fill the gap somehow.
Arun Secondary School of Huslang in Bandipur-6 of Tanahun has not been able to recruit science teachers despite publishing vacancy notices four times.
The shortage of teachers is having a significant impact on student performance. In the recent Secondary Education Examination (SEE), only 47.86% of students passed, with the highest failure rates in mathematics, science, and English. A total of 177,085 students failed in mathematics, and another 126,000 failed in science.
Bisnu Prasad Bhandari of Janajyoti Secondary School of Banganga in Kapilvastu, a science and math teacher himself, attributes these poor results directly to the lack of subject-specific teachers. “Students are struggling because we don’t have enough qualified teachers in these core subjects,” Bhandari said. He suggests revising policies to make it easier for science and math graduates to obtain teaching licenses and increasing salaries to attract more talent to the profession.
Suresh Kumar Joshi, director of the Center for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD), said they were aware of the shortage of teachers for science, maths and English subjects. “We are working on filling the vacant teaching positions. But we are getting very few applicants due to factors like geographical location, and pay and perks,” Joshi added.
Education expert Balchandra Luitel said the lack of subject teachers is a long-standing issue that has been building for decades. “Neither the government nor the universities have made enough effort to address this shortage,” Luitel explained. He called for increased government investment in education, improvements in teacher training programs and efforts to make teaching a more attractive profession.
