Govt won’t reopen schools amid Covid wave
Unicef and Unesco yesterday urged decision-makers and governments all over the world to prioritise the safe reopening of schools in order to avoid a "generational catastrophe".
Asked about his response, Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury said the government is willing to reopen the educational institutions. "But we cannot reopen schools, colleges and universities right now due to the high transmission rate of coronavirus."
The government is working to find how the educational institutions can reopen as soon as possible, he said.
"Any decision regarding reopening of schools will be made only after consultation with the National Technical Advisory Committee on the Covid-19 and other stakeholders."
The government has made significant progress towards reopening schools as 65 percent of secondary and about the same percentage of primary teachers have already been vaccinated.
"We hope 80 to 90 percent of the teachers will be vaccinated soon. Many university teachers had the jabs and resident students of universities are getting the vaccine. It is a big stride towards reopening."
The government currently does not have a plan to inoculate school students aged below 18.
The junior minister made the remarks hours after Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore and Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay issued a joint statement yesterday morning.
The statement was issued ahead of the Global Education Meeting scheduled for today.
The statement said, "This should not go on. Schools should be the last to close and the first to reopen."
Education for millions of children has been disrupted since the Covid-19 outbreak started. As of yesterday, schools are shuttered in 19 countries, affecting over 156 million students.
In their efforts to limit transmission, governments have too often shut down schools and kept them closed for prolonged periods, even when the epidemiological situation did not warrant it.
These actions were frequently taken as a first recourse rather than a last measure. In many cases, schools were closed while bars and restaurants remained open, the statement said.
They said the losses that children and young people will incur from not being in school may never be recouped. From learning loss, mental distress, exposure to violence and abuse, to missed school-based meals and vaccinations or reduced development of social skills, the consequences for children will be felt in their academic achievement and societal engagement as well as physical and mental health.
The most affected are often the children in low-resource settings who do not have access to remote learning tools, and the youngest children who are at key developmental stages.
"The losses for parents and caretakers are equally heavy. Keeping children at home is forcing parents around the world to leave their jobs, especially in countries with no or limited family leave policies.
"That's why reopening schools for in-person learning cannot wait," they said.
"It cannot wait for cases to go to zero. There is clear evidence that primary and secondary schools are not among the main drivers of transmission.
"Reopening schools cannot wait for all teachers and students to be vaccinated. With the global vaccine shortages plaguing low and middle-income countries, vaccinating frontline workers and those most at risk of severe illness and death will remain a priority."
In Bangladesh, education of around four crore students have been affected by the Covid-induced closure since March 17 last year.
In February this year, the government announced that all schools and colleges will reopen in phases on March 30. As more and more new cases of Covid-19 were detected, they deferred the reopening plan to May 23.
As the infection rate surged again, the government extended the closure until July 31.
According to the officials, reopening of schools will happen in phases. The education ministry plans to hold in-person classes for the SSC and HSC examinees of 2021 and 2022 six days a week.
Students of class six to nine will have to go to school once a week. The number of classes will be increased based on the situation.
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