BHUBANESWAR: Admissions to Government schools for 2020-21 academic session has been extended by State Government till August 14 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said admission to Government-aided and unaided recognized schools, madrasas, Sanskrit tools besides, schools affiliated to BSE and CHSE that began from June 8 and was to conclude on Wednesday, will continue for another one month to provide more time to students, particularly those shifting from one school to another.
Till date, admission of over 70 per cent of students who were promoted has been completed by updating the admission registers but enrollment of those with transfer certificates (TCs) is taking time. Besides, over a lakh teachers of Government schools are currently engaged in Covid duty which has also affected the ongoing admissions.
The Minister informed that this year many students of private schools in rural parts of the State have applied for admission to Government schools due to various reasons including non-clearance of dues. “Taking all these factors into consideration, we have decided to extend the admissions till August 14 to ensure that every student is enrolled into schools”, said Dash.
As per the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued earlier by the School and Mass Education (SME) department, if a student requires a TC, his/her parent will have to collect and submit it in the new school. Schools which have been converted into TMCs, swab collection centres or Covid health centres, can carry out work related to issuing TC or admissions from the nearest Government schools. Schools in the State have been closed till August 31 in view of the coronavirus pandemic.