Dhaka (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Some Catholic schools have launched online courses to help students during the pandemic crisis. Among these, St. Gregory's High School & College in Dhaka organizes lessons on Facebook. The teachers tell AsiaNews that the students are posting enthusiastic comments about the experiment. Satisfaction was also expressed by their parents and the school principal, Placid Gomes.
To curb the spread of the coronavirus, the government has imposed social confinement measures, with many people unable to work. According to the World Health Organization, there are 4186 cases of contagion and 127 deaths in the country.
Jyoti F. Gomes, secretary of the Bangladesh Catholic Education Board Trust, points out that the local Catholic Church runs 1000 schools, 17 colleges and a university. 80% of the students who attend these institutes are not Christians.
Gomes teaches at St. Joseph Higher Secondary School and is convinced that social media can be of great help to teachers in this time of crisis: “The pandemic could last long and online lessons allow us to move forward with the school curriculum , while respecting the social distancing required by the authorities ".
Catholic educational institutions are also ready to provide economic aid to the country. The archbishop of Dhaka, Card. Patrick D'Rozario, has announced that a fund will be created to support the fight against the coronavirus. The resources will be collected by Catholic schools and lenders, and delivered to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
