Odisha to reopen schools for Classes 11 and 8 after Durga Puja vacation, details here

New Delhi: The Odisha government is all set to resume physical classes for students of Classes 11 and 8 after the Durga Puja vacation. Schools in Odisha were closed on October 9 for Durga Puja and Kumar Purnima and will reopen on October 21.

Issuing a notification, the school and mass education department on Friday (October 15) said schools for standard 11 students will commence from October 21 and for Class 8 students on October 25 amid declining COVID-19 cases in the state. “The COVID-19 situation has been improving in the state. We will resume classroom teaching for students of classes 11 and 8 from October 21 and October 25 respectively," School and Mass Education Minister S R Dash was quoted as saying by PTI. 

The classes for Class 11 will be held from 10 AM to 1.30 PM and for standard 8 from 9 AM.

"No cooked mid-day meal will be served to the students of standard 8 and dry ration will be given to them instead", the notification said. The Odisha government has also decided to reopen hostels for students of Classes 11 and 8 along with the date of reopening of schools with strict compliance to COVID-19 protocol and social distancing norms.

Earlier, the state government had resumed physical classes for 9 and 12. Dash informed take no decision has been taken for restarting schools for students from class 1 to class 7.

It is to be noted that online and offline classes will continue and the students can attend physical classes in consultation with their parents or guardians, while parental consent is mandatory for students who plan to stay in the hostels, the notification said. 

"The education institutions under the administrative control of ST & SC development, Minorities and Backward Classes Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities may also commence classes from the above dates following the prescribed SOP of the school and mass education department," the order added.

Meanwhile, Odisha logged 467 new COVID-19 cases, which took the caseload to 10,34,276, as per a health department official on Friday. With five fatalities, the coronavirus death toll climbed to 8,279. 

(With agency inputs)

Live TV