Following the Covid-19 Crisis Management Coordination Centre’s Sunday’s recommendation, the government has decided to close schools across the country until January 29 effective from Tuesday.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on Monday released a press statement to that effect.

“The ministry has decided to close all basic and secondary schools from January 11 to 29 given the fast spread of the coronavirus and the presence of the Omicron variant in the country,” the statement issued by the ministry’s spokesperson Deepak Sharma reads.

The ministry has also requested schools to facilitate academic learning in line with the directives issued earlier for school holidays.

The CCMCC had also recommended administering vaccines to children between 12-17 years during the vacation.

The ministry through the statement has requested guardians to ensure their children eligible for vaccination get their Covid-19 vaccine through health posts at the local levels who are working in coordination with the schools.

On Sunday, the CCMCC had recommended that the ministry extend the winter vacation till January 29 owing to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases.

“All the basic and secondary schools have been asked to issue notice to the guardians requesting them to not send their wards to school until January 29,” reads one of 13 recommendations made by the committee.

Education Minister Devendra Poudel, who is self-isolating with symptoms of common cold and cough, said the ministry has decided to endorse the committee’s decision to close schools until January 29 but colleges will continue their preparation for upcoming examinations following health protocols.