Educational institutions to be shut again if Covid infection surges: Dipu Moni

If there is any report or possibility of rising in Covid cases in any educational institution then those will be closed, said Education Minister Dipu Moni on Saturday.

"But no such situation has so far arisen anywhere. If any report comes, we'll take steps," she said while talking to reporters after the inauguration of the Bangabandhu-Bapu Digital Exhibition at the Shilpakala Academy.

"We don't want to bring the pre-primary level students to educational institutions now. After three weeks, we'll take a decision on it," said Dipu Moni.

The education minister said the pandemic is not over yet in the world and people must stay careful although the daily infection rate has fallen below 5 percent.

"We'll have to keep eyes on the situation. Anyone can fall sick anywhere -- at home, on the way to schools or even at educational institutions. We're alert so that we can take steps immediately. We'll take measures in consultation with local administrations, civil surgeon offices and health department if we receive any complaint or report."

A class VII student died of Covid while a class X student of another school tested positive, she said, adding that all their classmates were tested but no one was found positive.

The students of schools and colleges in Bangladesh returned to their classrooms on September 11 after a prolonged closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government had shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020, after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8 and later the closure was extended several times. 

The pandemic-related school closures in the country affected about 38 million students though the government introduced TV-based learning programmes for them.