The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education also instructs the heads to reinforce the 'risky' buildings listed by RAJUK
National committee cites children’s COVID-19 risks in advice against school restart
The national technical advisory committee on tackling COVID-19 has said the government should not reopen educational institutions and hold examinations now as the outbreak rages.
Published : 27 August 2020, 09:30 PM
Updated : 27 August 2020, 09:30 PM
It has cited long-term health risks related to the coronavirus disease among children in support of its advice.
After an online meeting on Thursday, the committee issued a statement referring to reports from Bangladesh and other countries about children developing multisystem inflammatory syndrome after getting infected with the novel coronavirus.
“This has caused deaths and become a matter of concern,” the statement said.
“It has also been noticed that even mild infections can cause long-term damage to different organs which also happen to children,” it added.
The committee also said that the rate of infection among children may initially appear low, but that is not the case.
Around 8 percent of the confirmed coronavirus cases are children of school-going age, according to an analysis by the government’s disease control agency IEDCR.
The official number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh has crossed 300,000, but experts believe the rate is much higher. Many patients remain undiagnosed due to a lack of tests.
Earlier on Thursday, the government decided to extend the shutdown of schools and educational institutions across the country to Oct 3.
The shutdown has been in place since mid-March. Many institutions are holding online classes while the government is broadcasting lessons via TV.
It also scrapped this year’s JSC and JDC exams for the eighth graders after suspending primary education completion or PEC tests.
Now the government is preparing a contingency plan in case it is not possible to hold the HSC and equivalent exams this year.
The committee said HSC tests held throughout the country last for around a month and involve a large number of people that may increase the risk of infection.
It suggested holding the exams later when the situation improves.
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