Reopening Schools: Universities to lead way

The government is considering reopening educational institutions in  phases with universities set to be the first to resume in-person classes  amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a large number of university  teachers and students have either been fully vaccinated or will get both  doses of Covid-19 vaccine soon, in-person classes will begin in  universities first. Colleges and schools will also reopen following  universities, said senior education ministry officials.

"The Prime  Minister's Office has ordered to begin work with an aim to reopen  educational institutions from September in phases after reviewing the  Covid-19 situation," said a top education ministry official.

Education  Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said the government was taking all kinds  of preparation to reopen educational institutions.

"If the  Covid-19 infection rate drops to the lowest level, we can have a  situation to reopen all educational institutions," she said while  talking to reporters after paying homage to the portrait of Father of  the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the International Mother  Language Institute on the National Mourning Day, marking the death  anniversary of Bangabandhu.

She said if the Covid-19 situation  improves to a certain level, in-person classes might resume at  universities at first, as the residential students and teachers are  being inoculated on a priority basis.

An education ministry  official said the health ministry has informed them that till the first  week of August, 30,000 out of 34,000 public university teachers who  registered for the Covid-19 vaccine have already gotten their jabs.

Around  1.79 lakh university students have registered for the vaccine, of whom  around 80,000 have received the first dose and 6,000 have gotten both  doses.

All government schoolteachers and 2.78 lakh out of 3.63  lakh non-government teachers at secondary level had been administered  both doses of Covid-19 vaccine.

Dipu Moni said any decision to  reopen educational institutions depends on the coronavirus situation as  the safety of students, teachers and guardians is the government's  priority.

Educational institutions have remained shut for nearly 17 months since the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.

On  March 17, 2020, the government closed all educational institutions to  check the spread of coronavirus. The closure -- recently extended till  August 31 -- has led to cancellation of exams and left academic  calendars in disarray.

Following the decision to close educational  institutions, the government launched TV education programmes through  state-run Sangsad television channel for secondary and primary students.  Later, it asked all schools to introduce online education.

Most  students in urban areas have access to learning through the internet,  but the digital divide has so far proved to be a great disadvantage for  underprivileged learners, mainly due to a lack of devices and poor  access to the internet.

At the end of last year, the Directorate  of Secondary and Higher Education asked all secondary schools to start  giving assignments to students.

All these interim efforts were made so that students do not suffer learning losses during the long closure.

Dipu  Moni yesterday said it was seen last year that Covid-19 infection rates  dropped significantly in November and December, and this year the  government has planned to hold SSC exams in November and HSC exams in  December.

Deputy Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury told  The Daily Star that the government is working on reopening schools, but  all depends on the infection rate.

"We will review the situation  in late August and any kind of decision regarding the matter will be  made after consultation with the National Technical Advisory Committee  on Covid-19," he said.

He said the government is also emphasising on secondary schoolteachers getting vaccinated before reopening of schools.

According  to education ministry officials, reopening of schools will happen in  phases. The education ministry plans to start classes of SSC and HSC  examinees of 2021 and 2022 first and their classes can take place two  days a week.

Students of classes six to nine will have to go to  school once a week. The number of classes will be increased according to  the situation, they said.

Dipu Moni yesterday said schools will  reopen in phases and all students will not need to attend their classes  for six days -- they will increase the number of classes in phases,  after in-person classes resume.

In February this year, the  government announced that all schools and colleges will reopen in phases  on March 30. As new Covid-19 cases and deaths spiked, they deferred the  reopening plan to May 23.

As the infection rate surged again, the government once again had to postpone plans to reopen.