Health experts to decide on safe infection rate level for school reopening

The government is observing the current situation of Covid-19 infection and will soon sit with health experts to take the decision on reopening schools and colleges, officials have said.

The resumption of in-person academic activities at universities may begin after vaccinating all students by mid-October, but the educational institutions will only reopen once the infection rate reaches a level that is deemed safe by health experts.

“If the infection rate falls below 5%, scientifically the situation is okay to resume educational institutions. However, in the current situation, some other issues are also being considered before making the decision,” Education Minister Dipu Moni told reporters after attending a program in Gazipur on Friday.

“We are a very densely populated country, and most of our students live in small homes with other family members. Schools have also been closed for a long time. There are issues of physical and mental health. There are various problems,” she added.

A meeting with the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 to discuss the reopening is set to be held next week.

Separate vaccination centres for students  

The government has decided to set up separate vaccination centres at university healthcare centres and upazilas to inoculate students, teachers, and other staff of the educational institutions.

The healthcare centres will be used as vaccination centres for students, teachers and staff who have not yet received shots despite having NIDs, an Education Ministry statement said on Thursday.

If needed, separate vaccination centres supervised by the Education Ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) will be set up at educational institutes in each district.

According to the statement, the universities will collect data on every student within seven days and send the DGHS a list of those who have NIDs but have not yet registered for vaccination.

Meanwhile, another list consisting of those who do not have NIDs but are above 18 years of age will also be sent to the Education Ministry.

The ministry will also seek the Election Commission’s cooperation in providing NIDs to those who do not have it yet.

Earlier, the closure of secondary and higher secondary institutions was extended till September 11.