Online classes for grade XI begin at colleges

Colleges across the country have started online classes for the newly-admitted grade XI students from yesterday.

Usually a new academic year for HSC and equivalent courses begins on July 1. But this year online classes started after three months due to the coronavirus situation.

Education Minister Dipu Moni yesterday inaugurated the online classes from a virtual programme organised by Dhaka College.

The minister congratulated all students and said Covid-19 has created an opportunity for them to have multimodal education system including online classes.

"We are now trying to improve the quality of education," she said. The government does not want an exam centric education rather it wants education through which a student will acquire knowledge and skills as well as improve their mental health, she added. 

"We need to overhaul the education system and we are doing that," Dipu Moni said.

Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury, Secondary and Higher Education Division Secretary Mahbub Hossain, Technical and Madrasa Education Division Secretary Aminul Islam Khan, Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Director General Prof Syed Md Golam Faruk, and Dhaka Education Board Chairman Ziaul Haque among others spoke at the programme.

Officials of the Dhaka board said around 12.50 lakh students have enrolled at colleges across the country and many of them started online classes.

It is not possible to take classes in physical classrooms due to the coronavirus pandemic, so it was decided to conduct classes online for students admitted to Class XI in this academic year, so that their studies are not disrupted, they said.