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mismanagement in the vaccination centres and multiple difficulties in the registration process have dampened the excitement surrounding the government’s initiative.

The whole vaccination programme was going very smoothly until it was taken to the schools, said a top official of the Directorate General of Health Services asking not to be named as he is not authorised to speak with media.

“Several flaws cropped up. So, if we go to schools and administer the jabs there, students waiting in the queue for long will come to an end,” he added.

Contacted, Md Shahedul Khabir, director of the administration at Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE), said: “We have a taken decision in principle that vaccination will be taken to other schools where there are cooling facilities and the student numbers are high. We will start soon.”

A list of more than 4 lakh students of schools in Dhaka aged between 12 and 17 years was sent to the ICT Division for vaccine registration, according to the DSHE.

Of them, about 2.5 lakh have registered. There are about 6.5 lakh students of 12-17 years enrolled at schools in Dhaka.