Admission into government and non-government schools is likely to be held through lottery method due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the country.
The Education Ministry will publish a notification regarding admission process soon, Education Ministry sources said.
Earlier, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) sent recommendations to the Education Ministry which states the admission of students from Class I to Class IX will be held through lottery method if the corona situation is not improved.
Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni on Friday discussed with the teachers of several educational institutions of the capital about the school admission process at an online meeting.
Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, Secretary of the DSHE Md Mahbub Hossain and Dhaka Education Board Chairman Md Ziaul Haque also attended the meeting.
At the meeting, teachers and ministry officials discussed on three different proposals.
At the first proposal, the students can sit for admission tests with short-syllabus in a regular manner maintaining the social-distancing and hygiene rules. The second proposal was taking online-based admission test. And the third proposal was admitting students through lottery method.
Teachers and senior officials of the education ministry pointed out some complexities in the first and second proposals. They preferred the third one.
According to them, there is a high risk of covid-19 infection in case of conducting admission test in a regular manner. Moreover, a student will take exams in more than one institution. So, the risk of getting infected will increase.
On the other hand, all the institutions do not have the capacity to take the online test. There is a risk of adopting unfair means as well. Moreover, all students might not have got the access of internet.
So, the participants suggested that the lottery method is safer and more appropriate than other methods. The lottery process can be held online.
Meanwhile, most of the educational institutions are waiting for the government’s instruction.
Motijheel Ideal School and College Principal Shahan Ara Begum told Bangladesh Post, “We have not published any admission notice till now. We are waiting for government’s decision regarding admission process.”
Replying to a query, she further said, “There is no alternative to lottery method admission process.”
On the other hand, students are not prepared for the admission test. Thus, Rina Rahman, a guardian, told Bangladesh Post, “No final decision regarding admission process has been given from the education ministry. We have to prepare our children for the admission test. All the educational institutions remain shut since March 17. Teachers are conducting online classes. Now, we want a final decision from the authorities concerned.”
Md Nurul Azim, another guardian of a student said, “School admission tests can’t be held as the coronavirus infection rates are on the rise. In person admission test will be risky for our children. If schools have available seats, they should admit students through lottery.”
