In the past three months, Janjagriti Secondary School in Parnagaun in Mangala Rural Municipality-1, of Myagdi, put up a vacancy advert for the post of a maths teacher for the tenth time on July 10. But the school, which has been trying to hire a teacher on a contract basis with a monthly salary of Rs30,000, has received not a single application.

The absence of a maths teacher in the school has affected the academic performance of the students from the basic to the secondary level.

Janjagriti Secondary School is not the only school in the district facing a shortage of teachers— more than 50 percent of the schools in the district are facing a shortage of Maths, Science, and Computer Studies teachers, according to Ramjali Magar, the Janajagriti principal.

Sarvodaya Secondary School in Bhurung Tatopani, Annapurna Rural Municipality-2, has been trying to hire a Maths teacher since mid-November last year, but has not been able to find a single capable candidate. There is no Maths teacher for grades nine and ten. The school is offering a salary of Rs43,679 per month on par with what the government offers for a permanent post, but is yet to receive applications for the post.

Govinda Thapa, principal of Sarvodaya Secondary School, said the school hired the neighbouring Muktimarg Secondary School’s Maths teacher on a part-time basis to help the students prepare for the Secondary Education Examination (SEE) held in March.

“The teacher took classes twice a day and even on Saturdays to complete the SEE coursework,” said Thapa. “The teacher left the part-time job after the completion of the course because he couldn’t juggle between two schools.” Currently, basic level teachers are conducting Maths classes for grades nine and ten. “The teachers of the lower graders are forced to cover senior classes too. But it’s difficult for them to teach the higher classes because the students are aware that the teachers themselves are not qualified to teach them. It gets hard for the teachers to discipline the students,” he said.

Beni Municipality, the headquarters of Myagdi district, is also suffering from a shortage of Maths, Science and Computer Science teachers in both community and private schools.

According to Kamal Prasad Dhakal, head of the education unit of Beni Municipality, even when schools are offering an attractive remuneration package and additional benefits such as food room and board, applications for the advertised posts from qualified teachers are far and few between.

“Schools can hire teachers only on a contract basis. Teachers feel there is no job security in such a setup and do not apply,” said Dhakal. “Qualified local teachers move to cities to work in private schools that pay more and it’s impossible to retain a teacher from the cities on a contract. The government has sanctioned fewer teacher positions in government schools, so the schools are forced to hire teachers on a contract basis. But these days it’s becoming impossible to get qualified teachers on a contract.”

The government allocates permanent teachers to schools based on the number of students. The government provides a permanent subject teacher if there are 45 or more students in a class, and if there are fewer than 45 students in one class, the school has to hire a teacher on a contract basis.

According to the education unit of Beni Municipality, there are 16 secondary-level community schools in the municipality out of which six schools do not have permanent posts for maths and science teachers. “Even permanent teacher positions have fallen vacant in some schools. The municipality published vacancy announcements for science teachers three times in the past three months, but did not find any qualified candidates,” said Dhakal.

Dhakal says while the demand for qualified teachers in government schools in rural areas is peaking, such teachers have been quitting their profession in droves. Most teachers, especially those of maths, science and computer science prefer applying for civil service and land a government job than stick to the teaching profession.

Most teachers who get appointed through the Teachers Service Commission change their profession to civil service within a couple of months of working in rural areas. “This year two teachers from Arjun Secondary School in Beni-2 and Amar Secondary School in Raghuganga Rural Municipality-7 left their jobs in less than a year of being hired,” said Dhakal.

Maths and science are mandatory subjects up to the secondary level, and a shortage of teachers has raised concern for students who want to pursue the subjects for higher studies.

Dal Bahadur Thapa, head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit of the district, said that almost all public and private schools in the district are facing a shortage of maths, science and computer science teachers. “The limited number of subject teachers in the district has led to teachers working in multiple schools simultaneously. This is detrimental to the quality of education students hope to achieve,” said Thapa. “Owing to the urgency to fill the vacancies, many schools are forced to hire less qualified teachers. This will go on to affect the students and their academic performance in the long run.”

According to the Education Development and Coordination Unit, Myagdi, last year seven science teachers in the district quit teaching to join the civil service. Similarly, teachers hired on a contract basis only last from six months to a year before moving to the better-paying schools in the cities.

Government schools in Myagdi district have a total of 22 permanent posts each for maths and science teachers.

Thapa says the number of permanent teachers sanctioned by the government is disproportionately low compared to the number of secondary schools. Although the government provides funds for the salary of teachers hired on a contract basis, due to a lack of job security, schools face major difficulties in retaining such teachers.

“The existing policy for the hiring of teachers has to be changed and teacher numbers increased if we are to tackle the current shortage,” said Dhakal, head of the education unit at Beni Municipality.

Similarly, East Rukum in Lumbini province is also facing teacher shortage

According to Anil Acharya, the principal of Shahid Shukra Secondary School at Bhume Rural Municipality-3 in East Rukum, there is a shortage of English language teachers along with maths and science teachers. Despite repeated vacancy announcements, Shahid Shukra Secondary School has not received any response from candidates. “We have hired less qualified teachers to fill the gap. There is no other recourse,” he said.

Chhabilal Dahal, principal of Putha Himalaya Secondary School in Putha Uttarganga Rural Municipality-1, says the situation is dire. “Finding a qualified teacher on a contract basis is easy in urban areas, but it’s impossible in rural areas. We haven’t had an English teacher in our school for about a month now. We also don’t have a maths teacher,” he said.

According to the Education Development and Coordination Unit in Rukum East, there are 25 schools in the district, and most schools are having a difficult time retaining teachers. “It has become very hard to find maths and science teachers for schools in rural areas on a contract basis,” said Tilak Gautam, head of the unit. “Teachers preparing for permanent jobs through the Teachers Service Commission do not apply for contract jobs saying it hampers their exam preparations. In the city areas, you can find contract teachers, but not in rural areas. The government must find a solution to this issue at the earliest, because the future of the students is at stake.”