School Reopen in Odisha: Classes 1 to 7 to reopen from Feb 28 due panchayat polls

BHUBANESWAR: Keeping in view the timing of the upcoming panchayat elections in Odisha, the state government on Thursday said students of Classes 1-7 will come to schools from February 28 and not 14th of this month as was announced earlier. Online teachings will continue as before, school and mass education secretary BP Sethi said in a letter to district authorities.

Elections to three-tier panchayats will take place in five phases on February 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24. “The schools for Standard/ Class 1 to 7 which was scheduled to start from February 14 are allowed to open from the said date and students may not come to school. They can attend to online classes. "However, all the Teachers should come to school and ensure thorough cleaning and sanitization of the campus. The students should come to attend physical classes from February 28,” the letter said.

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The decision was made in response to the reports of district collectors who had sought additional time to clean school compounds and carry out minor repairs. Stating that the schools for the students and primary and upper primary students had remained closed for nearly two years following the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020, the letter said that the election process for Panchayati Raj Institutions is currently underway. A large number of teaching and non-teaching staff of the school and education department are undergoing training for conducting the election or are engaged in related works at present, he said.

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This apart, several school campuses will be used as polling stations that will witness the movement of polling personnel and voters. “This may pose the risk of Covid-19 infection among the small children,” Sethi said in the letter. The government has opened physical classes for the students of classes 8-12 from February 7, but online classes were also allowed.

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