Govt to decide on reopening schools, not edu departments: Odisha CM

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Thursday that the state government will take appropriate decision on re-opening of schools and colleges after taking into consideration different factors in regard to the COVID-19 situation.

Patnaik's statement came hours of the School and Mass Education Department and the Higher Education Department indicated that the schools and colleges are likely to reopen in January.

"The Chief Minister has denounced the statements made on reopening of schools and colleges in the state. The state government will take appropriate decisions in this regard after taking into consideration of different factors," a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said. The CMO issued the statement after Patnaik undertook the weekly review of the pandemic situation in the state.

School and Mass Education Minister SR Dash earlier told reporters that schools across the state are likely to reopen in January. "Schools may reopen in January. However, priority will be given to reopen classes for standards 10 and 12 in the first phase," the minister said. Higher Education secretary Saswat Mishra said colleges and universities across the state may also reopen in January.

"We are hopeful that college students will be able to attend classes from the new year. However, semester exams of UG and PG students are likely to be postponed as classroom teachings have not started yet. The exams will be held after conduct of physical classes for at least 70-80 days," he said.

Meanwhile, the state government on Thursday announced a tentative schedule for the conduct of MBBS examinations in seven universities for the academic year 2021-22.

In a letter to the controllers of examination of different varsities, the Higher Education Department said that the state government has approved the guidelines of the National Medical Commission (NMC), which shall be followed to ensure timely examinations for MBBS students admitted to different institutions.

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