Reopening Schools: Universities to lead way
The government is considering reopening educational institutions in phases with universities set to be the first to resume in-person classes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a large number of university teachers and students have either been fully vaccinated or will get both doses of Covid-19 vaccine soon, in-person classes will begin in universities first. Colleges and schools will also reopen following universities, said senior education ministry officials.
"The Prime Minister's Office has ordered to begin work with an aim to reopen educational institutions from September in phases after reviewing the Covid-19 situation," said a top education ministry official.
Education Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said the government was taking all kinds of preparation to reopen educational institutions.
"If the Covid-19 infection rate drops to the lowest level, we can have a situation to reopen all educational institutions," she said while talking to reporters after paying homage to the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the International Mother Language Institute on the National Mourning Day, marking the death anniversary of Bangabandhu.
She said if the Covid-19 situation improves to a certain level, in-person classes might resume at universities at first, as the residential students and teachers are being inoculated on a priority basis.
An education ministry official said the health ministry has informed them that till the first week of August, 30,000 out of 34,000 public university teachers who registered for the Covid-19 vaccine have already gotten their jabs.
Around 1.79 lakh university students have registered for the vaccine, of whom around 80,000 have received the first dose and 6,000 have gotten both doses.
All government schoolteachers and 2.78 lakh out of 3.63 lakh non-government teachers at secondary level had been administered both doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
Dipu Moni said any decision to reopen educational institutions depends on the coronavirus situation as the safety of students, teachers and guardians is the government's priority.
Educational institutions have remained shut for nearly 17 months since the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
On March 17, 2020, the government closed all educational institutions to check the spread of coronavirus. The closure -- recently extended till August 31 -- has led to cancellation of exams and left academic calendars in disarray.
Following the decision to close educational institutions, the government launched TV education programmes through state-run Sangsad television channel for secondary and primary students. Later, it asked all schools to introduce online education.
Most students in urban areas have access to learning through the internet, but the digital divide has so far proved to be a great disadvantage for underprivileged learners, mainly due to a lack of devices and poor access to the internet.
At the end of last year, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education asked all secondary schools to start giving assignments to students.
All these interim efforts were made so that students do not suffer learning losses during the long closure.
Dipu Moni yesterday said it was seen last year that Covid-19 infection rates dropped significantly in November and December, and this year the government has planned to hold SSC exams in November and HSC exams in December.
Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury told The Daily Star that the government is working on reopening schools, but all depends on the infection rate.
"We will review the situation in late August and any kind of decision regarding the matter will be made after consultation with the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19," he said.
He said the government is also emphasising on secondary schoolteachers getting vaccinated before reopening of schools.
According to education ministry officials, reopening of schools will happen in phases. The education ministry plans to start classes of SSC and HSC examinees of 2021 and 2022 first and their classes can take place two days a week.
Students of classes six to nine will have to go to school once a week. The number of classes will be increased according to the situation, they said.
Dipu Moni yesterday said schools will reopen in phases and all students will not need to attend their classes for six days -- they will increase the number of classes in phases, after in-person classes resume.
In February this year, the government announced that all schools and colleges will reopen in phases on March 30. As new Covid-19 cases and deaths spiked, they deferred the reopening plan to May 23.
As the infection rate surged again, the government once again had to postpone plans to reopen.
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