Schools, colleges closed for five days around election

Primary and secondary schools and colleges across Bangladesh will be closed for five consecutive days surrounding the 13th parliamentary election and referendum.

Technical education institutions will also be closed for five days, while the break will lead into the Ramadan and Eid holidays for madrasa students, bdnews24.com reports.

The general election is set to be held on Thursday, February 12.

The government has declared general holidays for Wednesday, the day before the vote, and election day. Friday and Saturday then fall on the weekend, meaning that all educational institutions will be closed for those four days.

All primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and technical institutions will also be closed on Sunday, February 15, for the Hindu festival of Maha Shivratri, which was previously listed on the holiday calendar. As such, these educational institutions will close for a five-day stretch.

Meanwhile, according to the madrasa holiday list and calendar, the holidays for the holy month of Ramadan and Eid will also begin on Sunday, February 15. The break will continue until March 26, and madrasa classes will resume on Sunday, March 29.

According to the holiday list for colleges, the Ramadan and Eid holidays begin Wednesday, February 18. The break will continue until March 26, and college classes will also resume on Sunday, March 29.

The Ramadan and Eid holidays at government primary schools, government and private secondary schools, vocational schools, vocational colleges, diploma institutes, BMT colleges, and vocational colleges will start March 8. According to the list, the holidays will continue until Mar 26, and classes at these educational institutions will also resume on Sunday, March 29.