COVID-19: Schools, colleges to reopen in Odisha on February 7

BHUBANESWAR: Schools for classes 8 to 10, colleges and universities will reopen in Odisha on February 7. The decision was taken keeping in view the decline in the COVID-19 cases across the state, chief secretary SC Mohapatra said on Thursday. For students of kindergarten to class 7, schools will reopen on February 14, he said.

Students will have the option to attend the classes offline, online or in a hybrid mode, he added. Short-term training and skill development training centres will also reopen from February 7, Mohapatra said, adding that the hostels have also been allowed to reopen.

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The educational institutions were shut on January 10 in view of the third wave of the pandemic. The educational institutions would be suggested to hold bridge courses, short-term courses, doubt-clearing classes and other such sessions to make up for the study losses incurred by the students, the chief secretary said. "If required, the institutions may shorten the summer vacation," he said.

Mohapatra said students of KG to class 9 will be promoted to the next class on the basis of classroom assessment, while students of classes 10 and 12 will have to appear in exams conducted by the respective boards.

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The Union education ministry has recently released the modified COVID-19 guidelines for school reopening. According to the new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), state governments and union territory governments can decide whether the parents' or guardians' consent is required for students to attend offline classes.