The government has decided to reopen all the university residential halls on May 17 and classes will begin physically in classrooms one week later, on May 24, said Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni.
She made the announcement in a virtual press briefing on Monday afternoon amid protests at several public universities across the country demanding the reopening of residential halls.
Several decisions have been made regarding the higher education of students keeping in mind their safety from the coronavirus infection, the minister said.
All the university teachers and residential students will be vaccinated against Covid-19 before the reopening of halls, she said, adding that decision on reopening of schools and colleges has not been taken yet.
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However, the online classes will continue but no examination will be held before the reopening of the universities, the minister added.
Dipu Moni instructed the authorities concerned to take necessary measures so that Covid-19 health guidelines could be maintained after the resumption of classes.
On February 14, the government again extended the closure of educational institutions until February 28 to curb the spread of Covid-19.
It said the order would be effective for all educational institutions except for Qawmi madrasas.
Read more: IU students demand reopening of halls
Earlier, on January 29, the government extended the closure until February 14 as there had been no significant improvement in the coronavirus situation in the country.
But the situation has been improving steadily in recent weeks and a countrywide vaccination drive was launched on Feb 7.
Read more: RU students give 24-hr ultimatum for hall reopening
The government shut all educational institutions on March 17 last year after the country confirmed its first Covid-19 cases on March 8.
The closure was extended several times to protect the students from the infection.
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Online classes would continue during this extended closure, the latest notification said.
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