The government has once again decided to extend the ongoing closure of all educational institutions across Bangladesh in light of the Covid-19 situation.
The closure was supposed to end on August 31. But now it has been extended until September 11.
The Education Ministry, in a notification on Thursday, announced that all secondary and higher secondary level educational institutions, including Ebtedayee and Qawmi madrasahs, would remain closed until during this period.
It said as the country's coronavirus situation is yet to be brought under control, this decision was taken in consultation with the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 to ensure the health and overall safety of students, teachers, staff and guardians.
On March 16 last year, the government had closed all the educational institutions to curb the Covid-19 cases and deaths.
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Since then, the closure was extended several times, most recently until August 31 this year.
Bangladesh has seen a rapid drop in the Covid-19 infection rate recently, which led the government to lift a nationwide strict lockdown on August 11 and reopen offices and shops.
Under the circumstances, Education Minister Dipu Moni on Tuesday said educational institutions will be reopened in phases if this current trend continues.
“If it continues, we can reopen the education institutes step by step,” she said.
State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Zakir Hossain also said: “We can’t reopen the schools all of a sudden. We have taken all-out preparations and if the prime minister orders us today, we are prepared to reopen the schools from tomorrow.”
On Tuesday, the authorities also issued guidelines as part of preparations to reopen the educational institutions.
