The government has again extended the closure of educational institutions, until Nov 14 to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni came up with the information at a virtual press briefing on Thursday (Oct 29), local media reported.
The government announced general holidays in late March in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and shut all the educational institutions. Although activities at both government and private offices were gradually restored, educational institutions have not been reopened.
The previously announced closure of educational institutions was scheduled to end on Oct 31.
Earlier, the government has decided not to hold any annual examinations for secondary school students this year due to Covid-19 pandemic. Besides, the Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) examinations will not be held this year.
No examination will be held this year and the students will be promoted to the next class without facing any examination. A decision about certificates will be taken later, said Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni on Oct 21.
Talking about the evaluation process, the minister said, the evaluation of their mark will be done with their previous results as the teachers have the idea about their students.
Decision about enrolling class VIII students in Science, Humanities and Commerce sections will be taken later, she added.
The National Curriculum Board will prepare a syllabus for completing it within 30 working days for upgrading them in the next class, she said.
Referring to the increase of academic year, the Minister said, “We will keep it in mind and whether it is needed or not will decided later.”
Talking about the admission process next year, Dipu Moni said no decision has taken yet in this regard.
Earlier, the government decided to not to take any Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations due to coronavirus pandemic. Besides, there will be no Primary Education Completion (PEC) and its equivalent Ebtedayee examination for 2020 and the students will be promoted to the next class through class assessment instead.
Education Minister Dipu Moni on Sep 30 said they are making plans considering various alternatives since experts have warned about the possible second wave of coronavirus during winter.
UGC directives for online education
On May 7, the University Grants Commission (UGC) published a guideline on conducting courses online in light of the prevailing coronavirus pandemic, including teaching, taking exams, their assessment as well as admission for private universities.
Bangladesh on Wednesday announced the detection of 1,493 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours and 23 more deaths. The country’s caseload stands at 403,079 with 5,861 fatalities.
