Bangladesh plans to reopen schools soon: education minister

As the omicron-fuelled surge in COVID-19 cases is slowly subsiding, the government is planning to reopen all schools across the country once again, according to Education Minister Dipu Moni.

"All educational institutions will be opened very soon," she said on Friday.

After more than a year and a half of closure amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh reopened schools in September 2021. Later, universities gradually returned to in-person classes as well.

But with the onset of the highly-infectious omicron strain, infections have been trending up since the start of 2022. In light of the soaring caseload, the government announced the closure of educational institutions on Jan 21.

At the time, the education minister said the decision was prompted by an increase in coronavirus infections among children.

Initially, the plan was to keep schools closed until Feb 6, but as the situation had not improved as much by then, the curbs on in-person learning and public gatherings were extended to Feb 21.

Now that infections are on the decline, parents along with various groups are urging the authorities to vaccinate students and let them return to the classroom as soon as possible.

UNICEF has also made similar calls, highlighting the adverse impacts of learning loss for children.