Publish : 10 Jan 2022, 11:29 PMUpdate : 13 Feb 2022, 04:46 PM
The Education Ministry has initiated a special drive to inoculate the 7.5 million remaining unvaccinated students, aged 12-18, with at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by January 31.
The ministry has also instructed all educational institutions to tighten monitoring to ensure implementation of health rules. There are no plans to close schools at the moment.
Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni disclosed the upcoming plans during a press briefing at the ministry on Monday afternoon.
Easing student vaccination process
The ministry will provide at least the first dose to the students through a joint initiative with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) from January 15.
The ministry will allow doses for the students upon confirming their identities. Birth certificates will not be mandatory.
The education minister added that it would be preferable for students to get the vaccines at centres as arranged by their own schools.
The students will receive the Pfizer-BoNtech vaccine.
In response to a question, Dr Dipu Moni said there would be no shortage of Pfizer vaccines, even though they are also being used in the booster dose campaign.
She also said unvaccinated students would have to attend classes online, as they would not be allowed inside classrooms.
According to the minister, as many as 4.4 million out of the 11.62 million students in the country have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Around 419,000 have received both doses, while around 7.55 million are yet to receive a single dose.
A decision on vaccinating students aged under 12 would be taken once the World Health Organization made a recommendation on the matter. As of now, they are said to be safe and not need any vaccine, the minister told the media.
Dr Dipu Moni also said that almost 95% of public and private university students had already been inoculated. A decision on the vaccination of students of National University, Open University, and Islamic Arabic University is set to be taken today.
“Among the three universities, most of the students (2.9 million out of 4.4million) are from National University. We will sit with the university authorities [today] and make a decision,” the education minister said.
School closures depend on pandemic urgency
Educational institutions would stay open in a limited capacity and would be closely monitored, Dr Dipu Moni said.
The sudden change in the Covid situation had surprised officials, and they would make a decision depending on how it developed, she added.
“When we reopened schools, the daily infection rate was at 7% and the situation is similar now,” she said, expressing her optimism due to the vaccination of students.
Only Qaumi madrasas will not be closely monitored as they are not fully registered with the government. The education minister said the authorities would speak with the local government on vaccinating and monitoring the students.
SSC exam planned for mid-2022
Dr Dipu Moni urged the public not to pay heed to any rumours about the SSC exams and to check information with the responsible authorities.
“We hope to schedule the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams in the middle of the year, but it will depend on the Covid-19 situation,” she said.
She added that the ministry would make necessary announcements at least two months before the exams are scheduled.
Covid-19: 7.5m students aged 12-18 to get vaccine by January 31
Shutdown of schools not on the cards yet, says education minister
The Education Ministry has initiated a special drive to inoculate the 7.5 million remaining unvaccinated students, aged 12-18, with at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by January 31.
The ministry has also instructed all educational institutions to tighten monitoring to ensure implementation of health rules. There are no plans to close schools at the moment.
Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni disclosed the upcoming plans during a press briefing at the ministry on Monday afternoon.
Easing student vaccination process
The ministry will provide at least the first dose to the students through a joint initiative with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) from January 15.
The ministry will allow doses for the students upon confirming their identities. Birth certificates will not be mandatory.
The education minister added that it would be preferable for students to get the vaccines at centres as arranged by their own schools.
The students will receive the Pfizer-BoNtech vaccine.
In response to a question, Dr Dipu Moni said there would be no shortage of Pfizer vaccines, even though they are also being used in the booster dose campaign.
She also said unvaccinated students would have to attend classes online, as they would not be allowed inside classrooms.
According to the minister, as many as 4.4 million out of the 11.62 million students in the country have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Around 419,000 have received both doses, while around 7.55 million are yet to receive a single dose.
A decision on vaccinating students aged under 12 would be taken once the World Health Organization made a recommendation on the matter. As of now, they are said to be safe and not need any vaccine, the minister told the media.
Dr Dipu Moni also said that almost 95% of public and private university students had already been inoculated. A decision on the vaccination of students of National University, Open University, and Islamic Arabic University is set to be taken today.
“Among the three universities, most of the students (2.9 million out of 4.4million) are from National University. We will sit with the university authorities [today] and make a decision,” the education minister said.
School closures depend on pandemic urgency
Educational institutions would stay open in a limited capacity and would be closely monitored, Dr Dipu Moni said.
The sudden change in the Covid situation had surprised officials, and they would make a decision depending on how it developed, she added.
“When we reopened schools, the daily infection rate was at 7% and the situation is similar now,” she said, expressing her optimism due to the vaccination of students.
Only Qaumi madrasas will not be closely monitored as they are not fully registered with the government. The education minister said the authorities would speak with the local government on vaccinating and monitoring the students.
SSC exam planned for mid-2022
Dr Dipu Moni urged the public not to pay heed to any rumours about the SSC exams and to check information with the responsible authorities.
“We hope to schedule the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams in the middle of the year, but it will depend on the Covid-19 situation,” she said.
She added that the ministry would make necessary announcements at least two months before the exams are scheduled.
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