Govt to close educational institutes if infections rise further 

Education Minister Dipu Moni on Tuesday said the government will decide to close down the educational institutes if the coronavirus infections spread further.  

The minister also said if the students become infected at schools, their classes will be taken online.

The minister told this to the media after attending the annual deputy commissioners (DC) conference in Dhaka's Osmani Memorial Auditorium on Tuesday.

She said, "The DCs have been instructed to make necessary preparations for virtual classes, in case educational institutes are closed down. If virtual classes are not possible in certain cases, institutes have to rely on giving assignments."

Dipu Moni said at the conference, the DCs have proposed to include technical education in all institutions. They also proposed to keep DCs in the committees for recruitment of teachers in high schools and colleges at the upazila level.

So far, 85 lakh students aged 12-18 years have been vaccinated. The government has not given directives to vaccinate students younger than 12 years, she added.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the three-day conference from her official residence Ganobhaban in the capital.

Meanwhile, the spiralling trend in infections continued as the number of daily Covid cases jumped to 8,407 in the last 24 hours till 8am Tuesday.

The current positivity rate rose to 23.98%, from 20.88% a day ago, after 35,054 samples were tested across the country.