Authorities in the Indian capital region Friday reopened schools fully in offline mode after a gap of two years. It is for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that physical attendance was made no longer optional. Schools in Delhi were first closed in March 2020 immediately after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent imposition of a countrywide lockdown. The classwork resumed after some time in online mode and students were asked to attend classes sitting at their homes while remaining connected to their school teachers via the Internet. Although the schools reopened for in-person classes multiple times in the past two years, the online mode was never called off. Last year, schools reopened briefly, however, the second wave of the pandemic, the grave air pollution levels in the capital city and then the Omicron wave forced them to shut down again. The decision to phase out online classes was taken during the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting in February this year, following which schools were permitted to fully switch to offline classes from April 1, with the onset of the new academic session. READ: Govt primary schools to remain open till 20th Ramadan: Minister "It's after two years that schools are reopening and students were excited to get back to school," a local news agency quoted Sudha Acharya, chairperson of the National Progressive Schools' Conference (NPSC) as having said. Teachers say the return of in-person classes would allow students to learn properly. According to them, the closure of schools during the past two years has resulted in a significant learning gap. Reports said many schools however stated they will resume classes only from Monday. "Online classes will be completely suspended. Both students and teachers are happy since a return to the familiar routine is less stressful," said Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School, Rohini told a local newspaper.

Primary schools in Bangladesh will reopen for in-person classes on March 1, with strict Covid-safety protocols in place. Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin, public relations officer of primary and mass education ministry, told UNB on Friday. On Thursday, Education Minister Dipu Moni said all secondary, higher secondary and university-level educational institutions in Bangladesh will reopen for physical classes on February 22. At the same time, preparations are being made to reopen primary schools in another two weeks, said Dipu Moni.  Read: Senior schools, universities to reopen on Feb 22: Dipu Moni "In-person classes at primary schools will remain closed for another 10 to 14 days. Measures are being taken to vaccinate children below 12 years. The health and family welfare ministry and the Directorate General of Health Services are looking into the WHO approval issues," she added. Meanwhile, the ministry of primary and mass education has already prepared the list of students eligible for Covid jabs at all primary schools, according to the minister. On January 21, the government announced that all schools and colleges in Bangladesh will remain closed from January 21 to February 6 amid a renewed surge in Covid-19 cases largely due to the new Omicron variant. The shutdown was extended till February 20 for the safety of the students as the virus continued to spread. The following day, the education ministry issued an 11-point directive, including the resumption of online classes for schools and colleges. Read:Covid surge: Closure of schools, colleges extended until Feb 20 Besides, the vaccination of students, aged between 12 and 17 years, against Covid-19 was directed to be continued following the health guidelines in coordination with the zonal offices of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, District Education Offices, Upazila Secondary Education Offices, local administrations and Civil Surgeons. After a 17-month Covid-induced closure, the students in Bangladesh returned to their classrooms on September 12 last year. The government 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.

All the educational institutions of the country will be reopened after February 21 as the Covid-19 cases keep falling gradually, Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday said. "The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has no objection to reopening physical classes, but we would suggest the educational institutions to be reopened in compliance with health-safety rules," he said in a views-exchange meeting with district health officials at Gorpara Shuvro Centre in sadar upazila at noon. The minister advised all the students of schools and colleges who have not yet been vaccinated to do so as soon as possible. Also read: Dipu Moni hints at reopening of educational institutions soon "Eighty-five per cent of our target population has been vaccinated so far. So, the risk of infection and death is much lower now," he said.

The students of schools and colleges in Bangladesh returned to their classrooms on Sunday with much enthusiasm after a long closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the return of thousands of students, the campuses wore a festive look with all covering faces with masks and maintaining social distance. Students were seen entering their schools standing in queues in the morning and washing their hands at the school premises with soap or sanitizing those, reports a UNB correspondent visiting a number of schools in Dhaka. Body temperature had been checked by school authorities before they entered their classrooms. Read: No tiffin, masks at a premium, & may close again: Students return to school tomorrow In some schools, isolation rooms were opened as a precautionary measure so that any student falling sick during the school hours can stay there. To maintain social distancing rules, authorities in some schools have allocated one room for a limited number of students and one bench for one student. Junior school students will be allowed one day in a week to attend their classes in person, as per the government rule. Besides, the students of PEC, SSC and HSC have been asked to attend their classes regularly.

After nearly 18 months, primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in Bangladesh are all set to reopen gradually from September 12 with a slew of Covid-safety protocols in place. The decision to resume classroom teaching was taken by the Bangladesh government earlier this month in view of the improving Covid-19 situation in the country. School authorities are gearing up to welcome students to classrooms, following prolonged closure since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.  Apart from ensuring thorough sanitisation of the school premises, many teachers have already put out the class routine and other directives for the students online. Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni has already said that the country's educational institutions will be ready to host students by September 9, before finally reopening three days later. “Ministry officials will complete field inspections by September 9 to observe whether the institutions are fully prepared to open their doors for students,” she said, after an inter-ministerial meeting at the cabinet division on September 5. The decision to reopen all the primary, secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions from September 12 was finalised at the meeting. READ: Private school, college, madrasa teachers can’t be suspended for above 6 months: HC  

Education minister Dr Dipu Moni has said that the country's educational institutions will be ready to host students by September 9, before finally reopening three days later - bringing to an end what Unicef has called the world's second-longest schools closure due to Covid-19. “Ministry officials will complete field inspections within Sep 9 to observe whether the institutions are fully prepared to open their doors for students,” she said. “No one will be allowed entry to school and colleges without a mask after reopening. The parents will have to play a vital role in this,” she  added. Dipu Moni was speaking to the press after an inter-ministerial meeting at the cabinet division on Sunday. The decision to reopen all the primary, secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions on September 12 was finalised at the meeting. After the reopening, the SSC and HSC examinees of 2020-2021, and the students of class 5 will attend classes regularly while the students of class 1-4 and 6-9 will attend classes once a week initially, Dipu Moni further said. Eventually, all the classes will be held regularly. Also read: UNICEF welcomes Bangladesh’s decision on reopening schools

Primary, secondary and higher secondary educational institutions in the country will reopen on September 12 after a prolonged closure, said Education Minister Dipu Moni on Friday. “The decision was taken in a joint meeting of the Education Ministry, Ministry of Primary and Mass education and the National Technical Advisory Committee held on Thursday night,” she said at a function in Chandpur sadar upazila. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to reopen all the schools, colleges, including madrasas, on September 12 as per the decision,” Dipu Moni said. Read: Schools, colleges to reopen on May 23 Regarding the opening of universities, the minister said the decision is still pending as the Vice Chancellors of public universities want to see all the students are vaccinated-- at least the first dose of Covid-19 vaccines. Read: School reopening awaits decision from the highest level, says state minister “We’ll hold another meeting with them. If they want, they can reopen with other educational institutions or fix another date following the decision of the syndicate committees of their universities,” said Dipu Moni.

All state-run and private medical colleges in Bangladesh will reopen from September 13 in a staggered manner, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Thursday. The decision to resume classroom teaching has been taken by the government in view of the improving Covid-19 situation in the country, the Minister told reporters after a meeting at the Secretariat. Read: Steps underway to reopen educational institutions: Hasina “We have decided to resume classes at all medical institutions, including government, private, Delta and nursing colleges, from September 13. It may defer by a day or two but eventually all medical institutions will be opened in a phased way,” he said. “The authorities concerned have taken all preparations for the resumption of physical classes and the teachers and students have also been covered under the nation-wide vaccination programme,” Zahid said. There are 1.5 lakh medical students in the country and they have all been asked to attend classes following all Covid-safety protocols, he added. "However, the decision could change considering the Covid situation in the country at the time." Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the government was taking all necessary measures to reopen educational institutions in the country at the earliest. “We’ve been able to control the coronavirus to a large extent. There’s no more problem regarding vaccines… I’ve already directed (the authorities concerned) to reopen schools and colleges soon,” she said. The Prime Minister said this when she joined a discussion over a motion placed in Parliament to condole the death of Awami League MP Hasibur Rahman Swapan (Sirajganj-6). Read: Meeting on reopening educational institutions Sunday The government on August 26 again extended the closure of secondary and higher secondary-level educational institutions until September 11 considering  the Covid-19 situation in the country. The government shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020, days after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases. The closure was extended several times, most recently until August 31.

University Teachers' Network on Tuesday urged the authority to reopen universities from first week of September otherwise they announced to hold symbolic classes in open spaces protesting the closure. They proposed a roadmap on how to reopen campuses gradually during a virtual press conference conducted by Dhaka University Prof Gitiara Nasreen.According to the roadmap, the residential halls should be reopened immediately (from September 1) for honours and masters students. Once their exams are over, the other batches should get residential facilities step by step. "No examination can be taken without ensuring residential facilities. Students who will stay in the halls and those who will come from home should participate in exams in separate rooms to curb Covid-19 transmission," said Chittagong University Assistant Professor Maidul Islam while presenting the keynote paper. READ: Khulna University reschedules academic calendar After completion of the exams, there could be a "hybrid system", where students should get the opportunity to participate in classes -- both online and offline. Fifty percent of the students could join online and rest could start regular classes in the classroom. "If a student falls ill, he/she can join online," Maidul Islam added. According to the keynote paper, Covid-19 testing and vaccination for students should be installed at campus medical centres on a priority basis. The capacity of medical centres, along with isolation facility, should be upgraded. The University Teachers' Network also demanded starting an online teaching-learning management system for teachers and a separate committee in each university to train them. They demanded measures necessary for mental wellbeing of teachers and students and high-speed internet at low cost. Teachers also demanded identifying students who drop out and make arrangements for their safety net. READ: CU postpones exams, Dhaka students to return home by university bus Moreover,  some students of Dhaka University today protested the long closure and demanded immediate reopening of Dhaka University.The protesters threatened to go for tougher movement  if the university authority continue remaining closure."Universities failed to draw a roadmap to reopen universities. we want to say, reopen campuses immediately or we will go for tougher movement," protesters said at a human chain held at the base of Raju memorial sculpture at the university.

The Coronavirus infection rate in the country is declining, and if this trend continues then all the educational institutions in the country will be reopened soon, said Minister of Education Dr. Dipu Moni. However, she said that the institutions will be opened step by step. Dr. Dipu Moni said this Tuesday at a national mourning day memorial event by Awami League sub-committee on Cultural Affairs at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center READ: Scientific evidence to guide decision on SSC, HSC exams: Dipu Moni "It's good news for us now that the infection rate is declining, if it slows down further, we will be able to open all the educational institutions very soon. But we will open step by step because the number of students in our classrooms is more than any other country in the world. Covid-prevention social distancing is important; so, we will reopen the educational institutions considering the fact of maintaining social distance while continuing educational activities.” READ: Bangladesh to achieve developed status before 2041: Dipu Moni She added that the government is fully prepared to reopen the educational institutions but once reopened, not everyone might have the opportunity to attend classes all days of the week. “Just waiting to observe how low the infection rate goes,” she further said