Closure of educational institutions extended until 29 May

The government has extended the ongoing closure of secondary and higher secondary educational institutions until 29 May.

The education ministry issued a notice in this regard on Saturday night, saying the decision was taken considering the prevailing Covid situation.

"Due to the recent surge in Covid 19 infections in Bangladesh as well as outside world, the ongoing closure of all secondary and higher secondary educational institutions has been extended until 29 May, considering the health safety of students, teachers, staff and guardians," it said, adding that the decision came upon consultation with the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19.

However, the online education activities will continue as before during the period, it stated. 

All educational institutes have been shut for the last 14 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, inflicting severe harm on the academic life of students.

The government earlier decided to reopen the schools, colleges on May 23 and universities on May 24, following the recommendations of the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19.

In the face of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the education ministry announced closure of all educational institutions and coaching centres on 16 March last year.

Later, the closure was extended several times – first till 9 April, then 25 April, 5 May, 30 May, 6 August, 31 August, 3 October, 31 October, 14 November, 19 December last year, and 16 January, 30 January and 30 March this year.

Classes and examinations remained suspended since then but administrative activities resumed gradually. However, some classes were held online. 

The government had to cancel last year's Primary School Certificate (PSC), Junior School Certificate (JSC), Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and their equivalent exams due to the pandemic.

The PSC and JSC examinees got automatic promotion to the next class, while HSC students were assessed based on their JSC and Secondary School Certificate (SSC) results.

All students from primary to secondary level were also promoted automatically. There are about 4.5 crore students from pre-primary to higher education level at around two lakh educational institutions across the country.