Bangladesh: Closure of educational institutions extended till February 14

Bangladesh Desk: The government has decided to further extend the closure of educational institutions of the country until February 14, said an education ministry press release on Friday.

The Qawmi madrassahs, however, will be exempted from the order and will continue normal educational activities maintaining health guidelines, it read.

Other educational institutions from the primary schools to the universities would continue administrative activities for online admissions, online classes or exams, it added.

Since March 17, the classroom activities of the educational institutions in the country have remained closed due to the COVID-19 crisis.

In order to make up for the losses of the students, the government ordered the educational institutions to hold classes online and also broadcast classes for the primary and secondary students on the Sangsad TV channel and Bangladesh Betar.

The primary education completion, Junior School Certificate and Higher Secondary Certificate examinations were cancelled amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Test exams for the HSC and Secondary School Certificate exams of 2021 candidates were cancelled.

The government also decided to customise the syllabi for the HSC and SSC exams so that students could prepare in short period of time attending face-to-face classes once the institutions reopen.

The government decided not to hold any annual exam or admission test for pre-primary to Class IX students.

Instructions were passed to promote students to the next classes giving assignments and completing the admission process through online-based lottery.

In December, public universities were asked to hold the final semester exams for bachelor and masters’ students without opening dormitories and maintaining other health guidelines.