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Academic activities in primary and secondary educational institutes have been suspended in 12 districts of Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions amid the ongoing cold wave.
All primary and secondary level educational institutions in Bogura, Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj and all primary schools in Natore were declared closed for Monday due to severe cold, reports our Rajshahi correspondent.
Bogura District Education Officer Hazrat Ali said all secondary educational institutions have been declared closed and all upazila education offices have been informed about this.
Bogura District Primary Education Officer Asaduzzaman Chowdhury said all primary schools in the district have been declared shut as the temperature dropped below 10 degrees Celsius.
Shah Alam, senior observer of Bogura Met Office, said the district recorded the season's lowest temperature at 9.1 degrees Celsius at 9am.
All primary and secondary schools in the district have been closed in Chapainawabganj as the temperature has dropped below 10 degrees. District Secondary Education Officer Abdul Rashid and Primary Education Officer Jasher Ali have confirmed this information.
The lowest temperature in the district was recorded at 10.0 degrees Celsius on Monday. The previous day, the lowest temperature was 9.5 degrees.
District Secondary and Primary Education Officers said that all primary and secondary schools in the district will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday following the instructions of the education department due to the temperature remaining below 10 degrees Celsius.
However, if the situation improves, regular classes will resume from Wednesday.
Meanwhile, all secondary and primary schools in Rajshahi district were also closed on Monday. In addition, all government primary schools in Natore were also closed on Monday due to the possibility of temperatures remaining below 10 degrees Celsius.
Schools closed in Rangpur division
Primary schools of Rangpur division’s all 8 districts and secondary schools in three out of them were declared closed for Monday due to severe cold.
Directorate of Primary Education Rangpur division Deputy Director Muhammad Mujahidul Islam confirmed the information to The Business Post. He added that the decision was taken after a discussion with the divisional commissioner.
According to the Rangpur Met office, the minimum temperature was recorded at Rangpur 10.5, Panchagarh 10.6, Kurigram 8.8, Dinajpur 8.1, Nilphamari 8.8 Gaibandha 10.8 and Lalmonirhat 9.6 degrees Celsius on Monday morning.
Monsura Talukdar, head teacher of Alamnagar Station Road Government Primary School in Rangpur city said that they received the notification at around 8:30 am on Monday and later sent the students who came to the school defying the bitter chill home.
Meanwhile, secondary schools in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, and Nilphamari districts were kept closed.
Nilphamari District Education Officer Hafizur Rahman said that the secondary schools in the district were urged to suspend their activities for two days as the temperature was recorded at 8.8 degrees Celsius on Monday morning in the district.
Ms Marufa Begum, head teacher, Khoga Borobari Girls High School, Dimla upazila under Nilphamari district said, “We got closure notice after coming to school this morning. We had to send back the students.”
Lalmonirhat District Education Officer Mohammad Mazibur Rahman said, “We have served a notice to the schools for two days of temporary closure due to the fall in temperature in the district on Monday.”
The temperature was recorded below 9 degrees Celsius this morning, he noted.
Khurshiduzzaman Ahamed, head teacher, Kaligonj Karimuddin Public Pilot High School, Lalmonirhat said that the schools will remain closed until January 23 as per the district education office’s notice.
Kurigram District Education Officer Samsul Alam said that secondary schools in the district remained shut for three consecutive days due to the prevailing cold wave.
He added that the schools in the district have been closed since Thursday due to the fall in temperature in the district.
Kurigram District Primary Education Officer Nobez Uddin Sarker said, “We decided on school closure according to the instruction of the higher authority.
However, secondary schools in Dinajpur complained about not receiving notification of school closure.
Dinajpur Government Girls High School Head Teacher Laila Hasina Banu said school activities were regular on Monday as they did not receive any instruction from the district education office.
Dinajpur District Education Officer Rafiqul Islam could not be reached over the phone despite repeated attempts to get a statement in this regard.
Secondary and Higher Education Rangpur Zonal Deputy Director Md Shafiqul Islam said, “We asked the district education officers under the division to follow the guidelines of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE).”
On January 16, DSHE issued a circular saying that the education authorities in any district can close down schools in case the temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius.
According to the circular, “A cold wave is sweeping different parts of the country and as a result, the educational activities are being seriously hampered. The regional deputy directors in consultation with the district education officers can keep the educational institutions under secondary level closed if the temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius in any district.”
