The government is planning to vaccinate college and university students, said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam.
"Educational institutions will be reopened as soon as possible under favorable conditions if university and college students are vaccinated," he said.
The cabinet secretary made the statement at a press conference after the cabinet meeting on Monday.
He further mentioned that the renovation of residential halls of colleges and universities is in progress. So far the renovation of 40 halls has already started, he added.
According to the latest announcement of the government, the ongoing closure of universities and all educational institutions at the secondary and higher secondary levels have been extended till May 29. At this time, online education activities will continue and teachers, students and parents have been instructed to follow the hygiene rules.
The country's educational institutions have been closed for 14 months due to the pandemic. As a result, about four crore students from primary to higher education are facing severe problems. Many students are getting promoted to the next class with shortfalls as physical classes and examinations have been suspended for a long time. Experts are saying that it is also not being verified how much they have learnt.
A few days ago, a study found that 19 percent of primary and 25 percent of secondary students are at risk of learning disabilities due to this closure of educational institutions. In this situation, the educationists are urging a long-term plan to compensate for this loss of education. Many of them have also suggested opening the educational institutions in areas where there is little or no infection.
Earlier, the government, after consulting with the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, had decided to open schools and colleges from May 23 and universities on May 24. But with the recent surge in coronavirus infections and concerns over the Indian variant of coronavirus, the opening of schools and colleges has been postponed along with the plan of extending the ongoing restriction in the country.