Bangladesh decides to keep all educational institutions closed till Dec 19

The government has decided to extend the ongoing shutdown on schools and other educational institutions of the country till December 19 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

MA Khair, public relation officer of the Education Ministry, confirmed the development to Dhaka Tribune on Thursday. The ministry has also issued an official notice in this regard.

On November 9, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam had told the media that the decision on whether educational institutions will reopen after November 14 or not will be taken in the “next couple of days.”

The government had announced general holidays in late March in the wake of the pandemic and shut all the educational institutions from March 17.

Although activities at both government and private offices were gradually restored, educational institutions have not been reopened.

Last month, shutdown on all educational institutions, except Qawmi madrasas, were extended till November 14.

Meanwhile, the country’s health authorities on Thursday reported that 1,845 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 427,198.

Besides, 13 more patients died from the virus infection during the same period, which took the death toll to 6,140. On the other hand, 344,868 patients — 80.73% — have recovered so far.

No annual exams

Recently, the government has also decided not to hold any annual examination for secondary school students this year because of the pandemic.

Besides, the Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) examinations will not be held this year.

“No examination will be held this year and the students will be promoted to the next class without facing any examination. A decision about certificates will be taken later," said Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni on October 21.

Talking about the evaluation process, she said: “The evaluation of their mark will be done with their previous results as the teachers have the idea about their students.”

The decision on enrolling class VIII students in Science, Humanities and Commerce sections will be taken later, she added.

The National Curriculum Board will prepare a syllabus for completing it within 30 working days for upgrading them to the next class, the minister said.

Referring to extending the academic year, she said: “We'll keep it in mind and whether it's needed or not to be decided later.”

About the next year's admission process, she said no decision has been taken yet in this regard.

No HSC exam too

Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has also led the government to not take the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations this year.

Besides, there will be no Primary Education Completion (PEC) and its equivalent Ebtedayee examination and the students will be promoted to the next class through class assessment instead.

The education minister on September 30 said they were making plans considering various alternatives since experts have warned about the possible second wave of the novel coronavirus during winter.

On May 7, the University Grants Commission (UGC) also published a guideline on conducting courses online in light of the prevailing pandemic, including teaching, taking exams, their assessment as well as admission for private universities.