Staff Correspondent:

The government has instructed classes in coastal areas to be suspended as many educational institutions are used as shelters as Cyclone Remal nears the coast.

Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury has left the final decision on school openings to local government officials.

State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Mohibbur Rahman told the media after an inter-ministry coordination meeting on Sunday: “Educational institutions will be open, but classes will be suspended.”

Following the meeting at Dhaka’s International Mother Language Institute, Education Minister Mohibul said, “The district disaster management committees will make decisions on what educational institution infrastructure will be used and whether classes will be suspended.”

The same order applies to secondary and higher education.

Committees will make their decisions after taking the situation into consideration, the order said.

Bangladesh’s coastal areas are experiencing gusty winds and rain under the influence of Cyclone Remal.

The storm is currently headed north and is expected to make landfall between Bangladesh’s Khepupara and India’s Sagar Island between evening and midnight on Sunday.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department has issued landslide warnings in the hilly areas in Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, and Chattogram due to the heavy rain in the area.