Primary school students to return to in-person classes on Mar 1

The government will resume in-person classes for primary school students on Mar 1, as COVID classes decline.

"As the coronavirus infection has diminished, primary schools can resume in-person classes with health restrictions in place,” Ministry of Primary and Mass Education spokesman Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin said on Friday.

“But not all grades will have classes on the same day. Days will be specified and an official notice will be issued on Sunday."

Schools will maintain a distance between two students in the seating arrangement, according to the spokesman.

An official notice over the reopening of schools for primary students will be issued on Sunday.

On Thursday, Education Minister Dipu Moni said that students in secondary, higher secondary and higher education will be able to resume in-person classes on Feb 22. 

However, only students who have received at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed to return for now, she added, urging primary school students to wait some time to return to school as those below the age of 12 have not received the vaccine.

The positivity rate of COVID-19 tests has dropped to 12 percent. The rate may drop further in the next 10-14 days, and could reach a level where primary schools are reopened, she had previously said.

The government is also mulling how to vaccinate those under the age of 12 against the disease, Dipu Moni added.

On Wednesday night, experts advising the government on COVID-19 measures recommended reopening educational institutions across Bangladesh from Feb 22.

It also recommended limiting attending students to those above 12 years of age who had received two doses of the vaccine. The experts added that all health regulations must be maintained.

Although children are less likely to develop severe symptoms if they catch COVID-19, the unvaccinated ones carry the risk of spreading infection among others in vulnerable groups, according to Prof Mohammad Shahidullah, who heads the panel.

After more than a year and a half of closure amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh reopened schools in September 2021.