Education Minister: Still unsure about number of dropped out students

The number of students dropped out during the Covid-19-forced closure of schools could not be ascertained yet, says Education Minister Dipu Moni.

“We are receiving assignments from over 90% of students. That means they have not dropped out. Many parents are still not sending their children to schools out of fear and so the presence of students in schools is not cent percent,” she said.

The minister made the remarks while speaking at a program at Shilpakala Academy in Chandpur town marking the Community Policing Day.

The number of students in schools will increase if the Covid-19 situation improves further and schools will be buzz with their presence, she said.

During the closure of schools many girl students were married off, she said, adding: ”We have instructed teachers to take steps to bring back those students to schools.”

Deputy Commissioner (acting) Daud Hossain Chowdhury and Superintendent of Police Milon Mahbub were present at the program.After nearly 17 months, primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in Bangladesh reopened on September 11.

The government shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020, after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8 and later the closure was extended several times.

The pandemic-related school closures in the country affected about 38 million students though the government introduced TV-based learning programs for them.

The 17-month long closure of educational institutions, termed as the second longest Covid-19-triggered school closure in the world by Unicef, had multiple spillover effects in Bangladesh.

The increasing rate of school dropouts and child marriage top the list among the adverse impacts of such a lengthy closure.