The government has dismissed reports in the media indicating that students would be promoted to the next class without taking any examination in order to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on learning.

"Reports have been published across various media outlets that students of different classes will be promoted automatically without having to sit for exams. It is a baseless rumour," the education ministry said in a notice on Thursday.

The ministry has not yet taken any decision in this regard, it added.  
All educational institutions across Bangladesh have been closed since Mar 17 after the first coronavirus case was detected on Mar 8. Bangladesh reopened offices and economic activities on May 31, but the schools remained closed.

The government later extended the shutdown of schools and other educational institutes to Aug 6.

The state media Sangsad TV is broadcasting lessons for students of up to grade 10 to make up for the lost classes. The secondary students will have to submit homework when schools reopen for evaluation.

Various private educational institutions have been independently conducting online classes.

The HSC and equivalent examinations were scheduled to start on Jul 1, but were postponed due to virus.