BHUBANESWAR: The State government is likely to give the go-ahead for reopening schools for Class I to VII after Diwali in a phased manner. School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash on Sunday said as the Covid graph has started declining in the State, the government will soon take a decision on reopening of schools for all the elementary classes.
“We are planning to reopen schools in a phased manner. It will be finalised as per the Chief Minister’s direction,” he said. At present, offline education at elementary level is being imparted only to Class VIII students. Besides, classes in physical mode are also continuing for students of Classes IX, X, XI and XII.
The Minister said all safety measures have been put in place on school campuses for conduct of physical classes. Education of elementary students, especially those in Class I to VII, has been severely affected in the State as no classes have been conducted for them in physical mode for the last one-and-a-half years following outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in March last year.
This apart, online education and the YouTube live streaming programme launched by the Odisha School Education Programme Authority has not been able to cater to the needs of all students due to lack of digital infrastructure and internet facility in several areas ofthe State.
Members of teachers’ associations at primary and upper-primary level welcomed the State government’s plan to reopen schools for the elementary students in a phased manner. They urged the government to strengthen classroom infrastructure so that offline teaching can be imparted in with proper adherence to all safety protocols.