University dormitories to reopen on May 17, classes to resume on May 24

Classes of all universities will resume on May 24 and dormitories will reopen on May 17 after a year of shutdown, says Education Minister Dipu Moni.

Dipu Moni disclosed the information in a virtual media briefing in Dhaka on Monday.

Students will return to brick-and-mortar classrooms after the Eid-ul-Fitr, Dipu Moni said amid protests by the students of different universities demanding the reopening of dormitories.

The universities were shut down on Mar 17 last year after the coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh. Classes resumed online on a limited scale but the dormitories remained closed.

Weary of the long shutdown, students of different public universities have launched protests for the reopening of the dormitories.

Following a clash with the local people, students of Jahangirnagar University broke into a dorm and remained there defying the authorities.

About 50 students of Dhaka University also started a protest on Monday and broke into the university’s Shahidullah Hall, with some returning to their designated rooms.