Schools could stay open on Saturdays in 2025 to allow full vacation in Ramadan
Staff Correspondent
Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury on Tuesday said the government is considering keeping schools open on many of next year’s Saturdays to compensate for a vacation throughout that year’s holy month of Ramadan.
He made the disclosure at a discussion session on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s historic role in leading Bangladesh through its independence movement on the occasion of the Independence Day at the International Mother Language Institute in the capital.
At the event, the minister also addressed repeated concerns over violation of Islamic values in newly published school textbooks. He said the education ministry will stay vigilant in respecting the values of different religious groups when drafting and rolling out new textbooks.
Regarding the new school schedule plan, Mohibul said the government is mulling the new move in light of an ill-intended controversy sparked this year asking for keeping schools closed throughout a holy month like Ramadan.
The education minister said every year has tentatively 52 Saturdays. If schools are kept open on many of these, for example on around 23 Saturdays, then the whole of Ramadan can be easily declared as a vacation period.
The government is trying to avoid this year’s mishap and court debates, and is also sensitive to religious concerns. Officials would sit down with Islamic scholars to discuss the new school holiday plan, he said.
