Govt primary schools to be run in one shift

A teacher takes class at a government primary school in Hagaribagh, Dhaka.
Prothom Alo file photo

The directorate of primary education (DPE) has instructed all government primary schools with adequate classrooms and teachers to implement the primary and mass education ministry’s decision to run the school in one shift.

The DPE has also instructed the district education officer to implement the decision.

A notice signed by DPE assistant director (policy and operation) Nasreen Sultana was issued to this end on Wednesday.

The DPE, however, took an alternative plan for primary schools with adequate teachers and classrooms or both.

In that case, classes will be conducted in one shift in two schools located within a distance of maximum a kilometre simultaneously, with classes of pre-primary to second grade in a school and classes from third to fifth grades in another school.

Since the DPE is yet to finalise the plan, the agency instructed the district education officer to assess the feasibility on the introduction of one shit in these schools and send detailed reports to the DEP.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, a headmaster of a primary school in Dhaka said it would be difficult to implement the decision to conduct classes of two schools located within the distance of a kilometre in a shift and that would not be practical for student too.

At present, there are 65,566 government primary schools in the country -- most of them conduct classes in two shifts.

In October last year, then primary and mass education ministry senior secretary Md Aminul Islam Khan at a press conference said, "We have chalked out a plan to bring all the government primary schools under one shift considering students, teachers and classrooms. In this regard, ninety per cent of the work has been done."

"No school will be closed and no teacher will be laid off due to this. We have just divided the task," he added.