Bangladesh draws up policy to push remote learning at universities

The government has begun drafting a policy to implement online education programmes at public and private universities amid the coronavirus crisis.

So far, public universities have not shown much interest in remote education although the University Grants Commission has already allowed private universities to conduct classes and exams online.

If the policy is issued under the current circumstances, both public and private universities will be required to run academic programmes online, said a senior UGC official.

"Nobody knows how long the educational institutions will have to remain closed. This initiative has been taken to resume education in the universities.”

The policy will be applicable to all public and private universities in the country, UGC Chairman Kazi Shahidullah told bdnews24.com on Sunday.

"This policy is being formulated to provide a guideline to all universities in the future as everyone is feeling the need for remote education.”

The UGC chief added public universities the regulatory body has been holding discussions with public universities on the matter since the start of the policy-making process.

Bangladesh reported its first cases of the novel coronavirus on Mar 8. Since then, the disease has sickened more than 22,000 people in the country and killed 328.

Amid the rampant outbreak, the government enforced a nationwide shutdown of offices, factories and public transport in a bid to slow the spread of the virus.

Schools and educational institutions have also been closed across the country since March 17 as a precautionary measure, leading to calls for the implementation of remote learning programmes to prevent any further disruption to the academic curriculum.