Students take an exam at a center in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov. 14, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

 
In the first public exams in nearly 20 months since outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, around 2.2 million students began Sunday this year's Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exams in Bangladesh.

The exams, which are usually held every year in February, began at 10:00 a.m. local time Sunday after over a nine-month delay.

Staff members spray hand sanitizer on examinees at a center in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov. 14, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

 
Students in Dhaka entered the exam center in orderly queues, wearing masks and strictly maintaining other health safety guidelines. Infrared thermometers were installed at the exam centers to check students' body temperature.

This year, the examinees are taking their exams with a shortened syllabus.

With the pandemic situation improving, Bangladesh educational institutions were reopened in September this year in a limited scale.

Bangladesh on March 16 last year first announced closure of all educational institutions in the country in an effort to halt the spread of the COVID-19.

Since March last year, the virus has spread to nearly every Bangladeshi district and the total number of cases has risen to 1,572,501 with 27,922 deaths so far.

Bangladesh reported 223 new COVID-19 cases and four new deaths on Sunday, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said. The country recorded the highest daily new cases of 16,230 on July 28 and the highest number of 264 deaths twice on Aug. 5 and Aug. 10, respectively.