Bangladesh extends shutdown of schools to Oct 31 amid pandemic

Bangladesh has extended the ongoing shutdown of school and educational institutions across the country to Oct 31 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 1 Oct 2020, 08:29 AM
Updated : 1 Oct 2020, 08:35 AM

The education ministry announced the development in a statement on Thursday.

The government announced the closure of all schools and other educational institutions in the country on Mar 17 following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The shutdown period has since been extended on several occassions, most recently until Oct 3.

The rampant epidemic also resulted in the postponement of the HSC and equivalent exams, originally slated for Apr 1.

The government has also scrapped PEC exams for the fifth graders, and JSC and JDC exams for the eighth graders, but HSC exams for the grade-12 students are crucial because the results determine their university admission.

As such, Education Minsiter Dipu Moni is expected to announce the schedule for the HSC and equivalent exams next week.

The Ministry of Education has also allowed the British Council to hold O and A Level exams in October and November respectively and laid down four conditions for the test organisers amid the epidemic.