Schools reopen, many fail to comply with COVID-19 SOPs in Odisha

Average attendance in schools across the state remained between 30 and 70 per cent. 
Students being screened before entering into Capital High School as classes commenced in Bhubaneswar. (Photo | Express)
Students being screened before entering into Capital High School as classes commenced in Bhubaneswar. (Photo | Express)

BHUBANESWAR: After remaining shut for more than nine months, schools across Odisha reopened partially, only for Class X and XII students, on Friday. The atmosphere at the schools was both of excitement and apprehension. While students, who came to the schools, were excited to be attending their first class of the session physically, there was a palpable sense of fear among the parents and guardians over the preparations by the institutions and steps taken to ensure safety of their wards.

Many students also didn’t turn up for classes on the first day. Average attendance in schools across the state remained between 30 and 70 per cent. Even as the state government had issued detailed guidelines and standard operating procedure (SOP) on conduct of classes, seating of students and mandatory mask wearing along with sanitisation, many schools seemed to follow the rules while many did not. 

Schools were disinfected prior to commencement of classes. Students and staff were also screened with thermal guns to check their body temperature and asked to sanitise hands at the entrance before stepping into the campus at many places. There were, however, blatant violations of the SOP in many schools where the number of students allowed to sit in a classroom exceeded the permissible limit of 20-25 and teachers were seen taking classes with masks pulled down below the chin.

Social distancing norms were openly flouted in Rama Devi Higher Secondary School in the city where 35 to 40 students sat next to one another without maintaining the stipulated six feet physical distance. There was also little enforcement in the school to check whether the students and teachers were wearing masks properly. Similar lapses were also found in some other schools in the Capital city as well as other parts of the State on the first day.

The government, meanwhile, warned of action against any lapses in compliance to the SOP. “Our district level nodal officers are visiting different schools to check whether they are complying with the safety norms or not. Those found violating the SOP will face action,” said School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash.

On the other hand, there were schools which did their best for safety of the students and teachers. “Our monitoring and sanitisation teams reached before the time of opening the gates to ensure all safety measures are in place,” said principal of Capital High School Sonamika Ray.She said only 20 to 25 students are being allowed to sit in each classroom to maintain social distancing. “We have also worked out chart for staggered recess and lunch break,” Ray said.

Students on their part were happy to be back in classrooms. “Though we were studying online, offline classes are important as they offer more scope for student-teacher interaction and clear doubts. These classes will help us brush up what we have studied at home for the upcoming board exams,” said Ananya Das, a Class X student from Balasore. The focus of day one in most of the schools was on sensitising students on Covid-19 and safety measures.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com