BHUBANESWAR: Amid growing concern over reopening of schools, Odisha Government has decided to begin the elementary and secondary level admission process for 2020-21 academic session in the State from June 8. Schools in the State have been closed till July 31 in view of the coronavirus pandemic. School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said the process of admission of students at primary, upper primary and secondary level will begin from June 8 and complete by July 15. The move will help the department to know the exact number of students taking admission in Government-run schools for the coming session and finalise academic plan accordingly, he added.
As per the decision, admission process will be conducted between 7 am and 9.30 am everyday on all working days with adequate social distancing measures in place. Not more than five students and their parents will be allowed at a time to visit school for admission. Use of mask and hand sanitiser will be mandatory for them.
The Minister said the department has also decided not to close schools having enrolment of less than 20 students. “Though we had earlier asked the District Education Officers and other officials to identify such schools and merge them with other nearby schools, the decision has been put on hold in view of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Members of Odisha Abhibhabak Mahasangha, a State-level parents association, however, opposed the decision on admission stating that it violates the State Government guidelines which suggest that senior citizens and children below the age of 10 years to stay indoors in view of the spread of coronavirus during the lockdown period which has been extended till June 30.
Matric evaluation suspended on weekends in 11 districts
Cuttack: In view of the weekend shutdown in June, the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha has decided to suspend the evaluation of matric examination answer scripts on Saturdays and Sundays in 11 districts. The decision has been taken by the board as per the demands of the teachers of Ganjam, Puri, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Balangir, where the weekend shutdown has been enforced from this week. BSE President Ramashish Hazra said the evaluation process is going on smoothly in the rest 19 districts strictly adhering to Covid-19 regulations. “We have already planned some alternative arrangements to compensate the loss of eight days due to suspension,”he said.