Secondary schools, colleges and universities across Bangladesh reopened on Tuesday after a month-long closure due to sudden hike in Covid cases.
Students of different schools and colleges told New Age that they were happy as they expected that resumption of in-person classes would speed up their learning.
Violation of health rules, however, continued at places on the first day of the reopening of the educational institutions.
The students who did not receive two doses of Covid-19 vaccine were advised to attend classes online or through television, they said.
Different universities across Bangladesh, in separate press releases, earlier said that they would resume classes from Tuesday.
The in-person classes in the primary level schools are scheduled to resume on March 2.
Visiting different educational institutions in Dhaka, students were seen attending classes wearing masks.
‘It’s good to come back to school again as we hope we will complete our syllabus in time before the examinations,’ said Zaheen, a candidate of Secondary School Certificate examinations of the year 2022 of the Dhanmondi Government Boys’ High School.
His classmate Ananya said that the speed of learning was always fast in in-person classes.
Both of them were double-vaccinated.
Two Class X students of Kakoli High School, Raihan and Raihanur, said that they were happy to join in-person classes again.
‘But in our class some students did not wear masks,’ said Raihan.
Huge people including the guardians and students were seen gathering in front of the gates of Dhaka City College on the day.
Four BBA students, Maisha, Luna, Habiba and Aruna were standing while Luna was not wearing a mask and she also did not take any dose of vaccine.
Replying to a question she said, ‘I was eating.’
Similar reports were received from New Age correspondents in Chattogram, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Gazipur and Jashore.
On January 21, the government announced the closure of schools, colleges and equivalent educational institutions across the country until February 6 to contain Covid-19.
Different universities also announced closure from the same day.
On February 2, the government extended the closure of educational institutions by two more weeks.
Education minister Dipu Moni on February 17 said that in-person classes in all educational institutions from the secondary to tertiary levels across the country would resume from February 22 as Covid-19 infections were decreasing.
‘But only the students who have already received the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine can attend in-person classes strictly complying with all health regulations,’ she told a press conference at the conference room of the education ministry.
The universities could also resume in-person classes from February 22, she added that day.
Earlier, the government kept all educational institutions shut for more than one and a half years between March 18, 2020 and September 11, 2021 due to the Covid situation.
According to a UNICEF report, Bangladesh has seen the second longest closure of schools in the world due to Covid-19.
