Unvaccinated to be barred from in-person classes after Jan 15

The government has decided to allow only the vaccinated students to attend in-person classes at schools and colleges from 15 January.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) on Saturday issued a directive asking the authorities concerned to ensure vaccination of all students aged 12-17 years by that time.

The DSHE directive, however, did not mention anything about the in-person classes of students aged below 12 years.

DSHE Director General Professor Syed Golam Faruk said that the decision will be finalised on Monday in this regard.

The vaccination campaign for students aged 12-17 years started on 1 November 2021 which is scheduled to end on 15 January.

Those who will not get vaccinated by this time, will not be able to attend in-person classes, said the directive.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), until Saturday, 7,42,296 students aged 12-17 years have received two doses of coronavirus vaccine while 49,47,981 students have received the first dose only.

The number of students aged 12-17 years is approximately 1,00,20,000 in the country.

Education Minister Dipu Moni on Saturday said that the government does not want to shut down the educational institutions right now as it will result in more learning losses.