Bangladesh schools unlikely to reopen in November: Dipu Moni

Education Minister Dipu Moni has indicated that schools and other educational institutions may not reopen in November, as previously suggested, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister spoke at a media briefing on Wednesday to explain how secondary school students will be assessed this year after announcing the cancellation of the annual examinations.

Asked whether the educational institution would be reopened in November, the education minister said, "What do you think? Under the current circumstances, educational institutions are in the process of closing in most of the places where they had reopened."

"There is concern about another wave of the coronavirus everywhere, which is backed by experts. That is why we will discuss the matter with the National Advisory Committee on COVID-19.”

"We can reopen schools when we believe that our students, teachers and parents will face little to no health risks. It's difficult to tell at this time when that can happen," she said.

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 occasions, most recently until Oct 31.

The rampant epidemic also resulted in the cancellation 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 along with the annual exams for students of Class VI to Class X.