British Council in Bangladesh ‘temporarily’ closed to review security procedure

The British Council has “temporarily” closed its offices in Bangladesh in order to review security procedures.

The UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities in a statement on Wednesday said it hoped “to reopen its offices and resume normal services to the public once new security measures are in place.”
 

“We recognise that people in Bangladesh are increasingly concerned about safety and security in public places,” Barbara Wickham, Director of British Council Bangladesh, said.

“The safety and security of our staff and customers is always our top priority. Therefore we have taken the decision to temporarily close our offices in order to review our security practices.”

During this temporary closure, Customer Services will be responding to queries through email -- [e-mail].

The decision followed terrorist attack on July 1 that resulted in the death of 2O hostages, mostly foreigners, and two policemen.

The British government in its travel alert warned citizens to be cautious in Dhaka. “There remains a high threat from terrorism in Bangladesh, including against foreign nationals. You should take appropriate security precautions,” according to the alert.

British Council oversees 'A' and 'O' - Level examinations in Bangladesh.

An official said there would be no effect of the closure upon the exams as no test was scheduled to be held now.