The government has extended closure of all educational institutions till August 6 , as a preventive measure against further spread of coronavirus.

"We have extended the closure of educational institutions till August 6. We will issue and order soon," Akram-Al-Hossain, secretary to the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, told The Daily Star today.

Summer vacation and Eid-ul-Azha holidays will coincide with the closure, he added.

Education ministry in a statement said that they took the decision keeping in mind safety of students amid the pandemic.

All educational institutions have remained closed since March 17. The closure had been extended till June 15 previously.

On April 27, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said all educational institutions may stay closed until September if the situation caused by the coronavirus outbreak does not improve.

Educational activities of about four crore students are being hampered due to coronavirus crisis. Holding of HSC examinations has been deferred for an indefinite period. First-term exams of primary schools and half yearly exams of secondary schools have also been deferred due to the crisis.

The government started TV education through Sangsad TV for secondary students on March 29, for primary students on April 7, and for technical and madrassa students on April 19, so that students can make up for some of the losses due to closure of the educational institutions.

Many guardians said it was only partially fulfilling the objective, as about a half of the country's people -- many of them underprivileged -- do not have access to TV sets.

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey-2019 of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showed that 50 percent households of the country do not have television sets.