Bangladesh has decided to extend the shutdown of schools and other educational institutions until June 30 amid a surge in Covid-19 infections.
The Education Ministry, in a notification on Saturday, announced that all secondary and higher secondary level educational institutions, including Ebtedayee and Qawmi madrasas, would remain closed until the said period.
"The Covid-19 situation worsened in some districts and many areas have been locked down. Considering the safety of students, teachers, staff and guardians, and upon the advice of Covid-19 technical committee, the shutdown has been extended," the notification said.
In a notification, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education said the ongoing closure of all primary schools and kindergartens has been extended to June 30.
Also Read - Covid-19: Schools, colleges not reopening on June 13
On May 27, Education Minister Dipu Moni said the country's schools and colleges – which have remained closed since March 2020 – could potentially be reopened on June 13, depending on the Covid-19 situation.
However, on June 6, Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hassan Chowdhoury Nowfel told Dhaka Tribune that they have decided to push back the reopening.
"The decision on reopening will come following the advice of the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19," he said,
Meanwhile, the government on June 6 decided to extend the restrictions on public movement and gatherings, which were imposed on April 5, till June 16.
With Covid-19 cases soaring in bordering districts likely because of the highly contagious Indian variant, experts fear that Bangladesh may face the worst outbreak of the deadly virus by the end of June.
A total of 13,032 people have died of Covid-19 and 822,849 others infected until Friday since the pandemic hit the country in March last year.
Amid a growing concern, the daily infection rate stood at 13.24%.
