Kathmandu. Bangladesh is set to launch a hybrid learning system with three days of virtual and three days of physical presence from next week to address the energy crisis triggered by the Middle East war.

The South Asian country with a population of 170 million imports 95 percent of its oil and gas needs, most of which comes from the Middle East. Weeks of conflict in the Middle East have brought supply chains to a standstill.

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon said, “Shifting 50 per cent of classes a week to online will help save energy. Milon said that during the COVID-19 period, institutions have put online and virtual teaching methods into practice, and this capacity is still there.

As per the proposed schedule, physical classes will be held on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday and virtual classes on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. “This is a mixed education system,” Milon said at a press conference. ’

According to Milon, the system will only be implemented in schools that offer virtual classes, where there are prestigious and adequate students, and most of them come to school by vehicle. He said the government has exempted the import of electric buses for schools from tax. The government has taken several measures to curb fuel consumption. For this, the government has ordered to set limits on fuel purchase and turn off air conditioners in offices to save electricity that consumes less lights for government employees.

“The long-standing conflict in the Middle East could have a major impact on Bangladesh, with high inflation, shrinking financial space due to rising energy subsidies, high import costs, weak exports and weak current accounts due to low remittances,” he said. The World Bank warned on Wednesday.