Education minister hopes to reopen universities after mid-October

If inoculation of students goes according to the plan, it will be possible to reopen the universities for in-person classes and exams after mid-October, Dipu Moni hopes.

But the authorities would keep watching the situation to decide whether to restart schools, the education minister said after an event of Bangladesh Open University in Gazipur on Friday.

The government was also continuing discussions with experts, she said a day after a high-level meeting outlined a path towards the reopening of the educational institutions.

“We’re trying to complete the inoculation of the students above 18 years within a month. And as it takes around two more weeks to achieve immunity after the vaccination, we hope we’ll be able to reopen the universities after mid-October.”

She reiterated the government may now allow in-person classes and exams following the advice of the National Technical Advisory Committee on COVID-19 even if daily case positivity rate remains slightly above 5 percent.

The education authorities will sit with the expert panel next week.

The government appreciates the impact of the long shutdown on the students’ physical and mental health, and other problems they face for staying at home for long, Dipu Moni said.

She urged the parents to keep the children away from the “negative influences” of digital devices, which have become a significant tool of education because of remote learning amid the pandemic.