Schools, colleges to stay closed until Aug 6

The government yesterday extended all educational institutions closure until August 6 as a preventive measure against the further spread of the novel coronavirus.

"We have extended the educational institution closure until August 6. We will issue an order soon," Akram-Al-Hossain, secretary of the primary and mass education ministry, told The Daily Star.

Summer vacation and Eid-ul-Azha holidays will coincide with this closure, he added.

Abul Khiar, public relations officer of the education ministry, said educational institutions under their ministry would also stay closed until August 6. They made the decision, keeping mind safety of students.

All educational institutions have remained closed since March 17. Earlier, the closure was stretched to June 15 to stem coronavirus transmission.

On April 27, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said all educational institutions may stay closed until September if the situation caused by the coronavirus outbreak does not improve.

Educational activities of about four crore students are being hampered due to coronavirus crisis. Holding of HSC exams has been deferred for an indefinite period.

The government started TV education through Sangsad TV for secondary students on March 29, for primary students on April 7, and for technical and madrassa students on April 19 so that students can make up for some of the losses due to the closure of their educational institutions.

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey-2019 of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showed that 50 percent households of the country do not have television sets.

Many college teachers are taking classes via Facebook live. Many public universities are in fear of session jams caused by the closure of universities for about six months. Most private universities are conducting online classes to complete the ongoing semesters and thinking of continuing the system until the next semester begins.