Public universities get 50C for repairing residential dorms

The government has allocated Tk50 crore for the renovation of residential halls before reopening the country's public universities and for ensuring a healthy and hygienic environment for the residential students.
Md Mahbub Hossain, secretary to the Secondary and Higher Education Division, confirmed the development, saying that the University Grants Commission (UGC) would spend the money.

“The move will both help renovate the halls and ensure a healthy atmosphere for the students,” he said, adding, only the universities having student dormitories will get the budget.
UGC Secretary Ferdaus Jaman said they had sought Tk150 crore, but the Education Ministry allocated just one-third of the demand.

“We’ll disburse the budgetary allocation to the universities considering the number of their halls, within three days,” Ferdaus concluded.

Following a nearly 14-month-long shutdown owing to the coronavirus pandemic, in-person academic activities at universities across the country will resume in May. 

Amid growing protests to reopen the universities, the government on February 22 announced the residential halls would reopen on 17 May and the university campuses a week later.

Online classes are set to continue during this time.

Making the announcements, Education Minister Dipu Moni then said residential students, teachers, and other staff must be vaccinated before  reopening the halls and no examination would be held before the universities reopened.

She said that 130,000 residential students would be vaccinated by May 17.