School girls sit in a classroom, in Dhaka, on August 7, 2024, after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Bangladesh on Sunday (August 18, 2024) 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 (August 15, 2024) 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.

In the morning, school students in uniform were seen going to their institutions, many accompanied by guardians, the Daily Star reported.

The 1971 war | The liberation of Bangladesh, 50 years ago

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.

Dhaka:

Schools in Bangladesh reopened on Sunday and classes were continuing over the weekend after a searing heatwave a week ago that suspended lessons as the country baked in temperatures that surged to well over 40 degrees Centigrade.

Bangladesh has wavered over reopening schools for some 33 million students amid pressure to prepare pupils for exams, even as the worst heatwave in seven decades sent temperatures as high as 43.8 C (110.84 degree Fahrenheit) last week.

Many people have died across the region, and experts warned the heat could exacerbate inequalities, widen a learning gap between developing and developed nations in the tropics.

Bangladesh, which follows the Islamic work week from Sunday to Thursday, will hold classes on Saturdays until further notice, the education ministry said. Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury has said schools would open on Friday if needed to complete the curriculum.

Parents have welcomed the decision.

“Children don’t want to study at home. This will help them make up for the loss,” said Fatema Akhtar, who was waiting to pick up her grade-two daughter outside a school.

Scientists have said climate change is causing more frequent, severe, and lengthy heat waves during summer months.

The U.N. children’s agency has estimated that one in three children, or nearly 20 million children, in low-lying Bangladesh bear the brunt of such climate change every day.

Separately, a fire that broke out amid the heatwave on Saturday and spread across three acres of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest that is home to the Royal Bengal tiger, was brought under control on Sunday, officials said.

Intense heatwaves have caused water shortages and frequent power cuts, hitting the key apparel sector which accounts for more than 80% of exports and supplies retailers such as H&M, Walmart and Gap Inc.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)