The government has again extended the closure of educational institutions until Dec 19 to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The Education Ministry issued a notice in this regard on Thursday (Nov 12), local media reported.
The had 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 duration of previously announced closure of educational institutions was scheduled to end on Nov 14.
Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Wednesday reported 1,733 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, bringing the caseload to 425,353. Besides, 19 more patients died from the virus infection during the period which took the fatalities to 6,127.
The death rate stood at 1.44 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services.
So far, 343,131 patients – 80.67 percent – including 1,715 new ones in the last 24 hours have recovered.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on Mar 8. The infection number reached the 300,000-mark on Aug 26. The first death was reported on Mar 18 and the death toll exceeded 6,000 on Nov 4.
Annual exams for secondary students
The government has decided not to hold any annual examination for secondary school students this year due to the 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.
The decision on 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 to the next class, she said.
Referring to extending the academic year, the minister said, “We'll keep it in mind and whether it's needed or not to be decided later.”
About the next year's admission process, Dipu said no decision has been taken yet in this regard.
About HSC exams
Meanwhile, 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 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.
