Bangladesh Protests: Educational institutions reopen after a month of closure

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh on Sunday reopened all educational institutions, including universities, secondary schools and colleges, across the country after more than a month of closure due to violence centring the student-led protests that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The educational institutions in Bangladesh were closed indefinitely on July 17 to ensure the safety of students in the wake of clashes that erupted during the recent movement demanding reform of the job quota system.

The Ministry of Education on Thursday issued a directive to reopen the institutions under its jurisdiction. All the educational institutions reopened on Sunday, after a month of closure. According to Somoy Television, a Bengali news channel based in Dhaka, “All concerned have been asked to take necessary steps to resume academic activities in all the educational institutions from August 18 following the instruction of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus,” a notification signed by deputy secretary Mosammat Rahima Akhtar, said on August 15.

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In the morning, school students in uniform were seen going to their institutions, many accompanied by guardians, the Daily Star reported. Many points of Dhaka city are witnessing severe traffic congestion due to the reopening of educational institutions. The working week is from Sunday to Thursday in Bangladesh. Initially, classes were scheduled to resume on August 4 in all government primary schools, except in the 12 city corporations and Narsingdi municipality, but this was also postponed.

Meanwhile, the postponed Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations will be resumed from September 11. According to the revised routine, the exams will be completed on October 23. Classes at public universities have been suspended since July 1 when teachers went on strike in protest of a new pension scheme. After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, the educational institutions were declared open on August 7, but the academic activities could not be resumed fully due to the low attendance of students.