Online classes only if Omicron spreads to educational institutions: Dipu Moni

Education Minister Dipu Moni today said classes will be held online if the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreads to educational institutions.

"The situation to shut all the educational institutions has not been created yet in the country," she said while talking to reporters after attending the DCs' Conference 2022 at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium.

"Students will join online classes from home if Omicron spreads in educational institutions. Until then, there's no plan to shut in-person classes," Dipu Moni added.

She said some of the university students have contracted the Omicron variant of Covid-19 but they are staying isolated and none of them is seriously ill.

The education minister said the information was confirmed by public university VCs during a meeting held on Tuesday.

She said now priority is being given to vaccinating students, aged between 12 to 17 years.

"So far 86 lakh students have been brought under the Covid-19 vaccination campaign till Monday," she said.

Educational institutions are being monitored on a regular basis and a meeting will be arranged with the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 on the overall situation in a day or two, said Dipu Moni.

After a long closure due to the pandemic, the students of schools and colleges in Bangladesh returned to their classrooms on September 12 last year.

The government shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020 after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8 and later the closure was extended several times.