KATHMANDU, JANUARY 10
The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology has decided to close educational institutes until January 29 following a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.
A meeting of the ministry held today morning took a decision to this effect as per the recommendation made by the COVID Crisis Management Coordination Centre.
The ministry's Spokesperson Joint Secretary Deepak Sharma said the decision to shut schools was taken by the secretary level meeting following the recommendation from the CCMCC, the apex government body to tackle COVID-19 in the country.
The schools, however, can operate exam preparation classes following all health protocols for upcoming examinations.
"The ministry has taken a decision to shut all the schools from basic to secondary level from January 11 to 29, owing to spike in transmission of coronavirus and community level spread of the Omicron variant," Sharma said.
The ministry has requested schools throughout the country to facilitate e-learning.
It has requested all to let their children between 12 and 18 years of age get the COVID-19 vaccine as the government has started inoculating all those in the said age group. Teachers, school staff, and guardians who have not taken the vaccine yet should also do so at the earliest, added the ministry.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Devendra Paudel is in self-isolation with symptoms similar to coronavirus.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 11, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
