• Schools closed on July 16 during quota reform protests
• HSC exams suspended until August 1
• Postponed exams to be held after August 11

TDS Desk:

Decision on when the educational institutions to be reopened, would be taken within next two or three days, said a reliable source of the concerned Education Ministry.

Meanwhile, it will take another couple of days to decide on reopening primary schools in metropolitan areas.

The Ministry of Education is prioritizing the completion of the ongoing HSC exams. Additionally, there is pressure to finish the half-yearly collective assessments for secondary education. However, none of these can be achieved if educational institutions remain closed.

Prof Nehal Ahmed, director general of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, said: “A decision on reopening educational institutions will be made after discussions within the next two days. However, no final discussions have been held on this matter yet.”

Sources at the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education said a special Cabinet meeting was scheduled to be held on Monday, and decisions on reopening educational institutions will be made after discussions in the meeting.

A ministry official mentioned that offices would continue to operate according to the new schedule for the next two days, and schools would not be reopened during this time.

Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury earlier said in a statement that efforts would be made to ensure a safe and harmonious environment for starting educational activities in higher education institutions, adding that the ministry would request the heads of these institutions to sit with student organizations to that end.

Stakeholders said once the educational environment was restored in universities, there would be no issues in operating secondary and higher secondary educational institutions.

Additionally, primary schools in city corporation areas could be reopened soon as well, they added.

Educational institutions at the secondary and higher secondary levels were closed on the evening of July 16, following a press release from the Ministry of Education, due to the violent situation arising from student protests demanding quota reform in civil service jobs. Students were advised to stay at home for their safety.

On the same day, the University Grants Commission ordered the closure of all public and private universities in the country, following which universities announced the suspension of educational activities and instructed students to vacate the dormitories.

Then on July 21, the Bangladesh Public Service Commission postponed the viva voce of the 44th BCS exams.

Previously, considering the safety of students, the ongoing HSC and equivalent exams scheduled for July 18 were suspended through a notice on July 16. Due to the violent situation, the exams scheduled for July 28 were also postponed on July 18. All exams are now suspended until August 1.

Prof Tapan Kumar Sarkar, chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, said the postponed exams would be held after August 11.