Rural schools need qualified teachers

The pass rate of this year's SSC exams is 77.77 percent whereas last year it was 80.35 percent. It has been reported that poor performance of our students in English and Mathematics is to blame for this. Again, it is the students of rural areas who could not score good marks in these two subjects. The reason is that there is a dearth of skilled teachers in rural schools, particularly of English and Maths. The government must address the issue with urgency.