Secondary schools to start in-person classes in full swing from mid-March

In-person classes at all secondary-level schools across the country will start in full swing from the middle of this month with Covid cases declining, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni said Friday. 

The minister was speaking at the "Study in India" education fair, organised by the Indian High Commission at the Renaissance Hotel in the capital's Gulshan.

"We are going for a sequential evaluation process. We will give assignments to the students if needed," she added.

Earlier this year, all educational institutions were declared closed to curb the spread of coronavirus infections with the outbreak of the new Omicron variant. After being closed for about a month, classes started on 22 February at all secondary, higher secondary, and higher-level educational institutions.

At the secondary level, although SSC candidates and 10th-grade students attend classes every day of the week, they are not taking classes for all subjects.

SSC candidates are attending classes on four subjects, whereas 10th-grade students are taking classes for three subjects.  8th and 9th grade students are attending classes twice a week on three subjects, and 6th and 7th-grade students are attending classes once a week for three subjects.

Secondary-level classes will return to their regular pace in a very short time, Dipu Moni hoped.

The Education minister also mentioned "Blended learning" and said, "We are pursuing a national policy. We will submit it to the prime minister on 26 March. Following the submission, necessary steps will be taken for implementation."

Regarding the admission of medical students based on the short syllabus, the education minister said, "The medical admission test should be done on a rearranged syllabus. I have talked to the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) about it, and will further look into the matter."

The minister visited the stalls of various universities in India. At the stalls, people associated with different universities highlighted the study environment, and facilities provided to Bangladeshi students studying in their respective universities. 

In this regard, the Education minister said, "If Indian students pursue studying in Bangladesh and Bangladeshi students pursue Indian universities, the relationship between the two countries will be further strengthened with the exchange of knowledge."

High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, Shri Vikram Kumar Doraiswami, was also present at the event.