Staff Reporter:
Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel on Thursday said that the decision of keeping educational institutions open on Saturdays will be taken after the celebration of Eid-ul-Azha.
While speaking at a tree plantation and cleanliness programme at Green, Clean and Smart Campus on Alia Madrasah premises in Bakshibazar of the capital, the education minister said the government has already taken the matter under its consideration.
“A decision regarding the closure of all educational institutions on Saturdays will be finalised after the Eid-ul-Azha celebration. Currently, schools remain open on Saturdays. Efforts are underway to revert to the previous schedule where schools were closed on Saturdays, and it has already been considered in the academic calendar,” Nowfel said.
Academic activities of many educational institutions, being used as centres for the Higher Seconder Certificate (HSC) examinations, will be closed, he said.
“We are considering keeping the schools open with special arrangements. Special efforts are being hatched to reopen educational institutions that were closed due to the floods in Sylhet region,” he said.
Due to intense heat waves, floods, and board examinations, educational institutions are experiencing additional closures beyond the scheduled holidays. As a result, educational institutions are being kept open on weekends and Saturday to make up for the learning deficit, Nowfel said, adding that the government, however, is considering the matter again as the secondary schoolteachers are protesting this decision.