Schools for classes 1 to 5 to reopen on January 3: Odisha government

The schools for primary classes, from class 1 to class 5, will reopen on January 3, the Odisha government said on Tuesday. Close to 27,000 schools will reopen after remaining shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schools where Class 10 summative exams will be held from January 5 to 8, the primary classes will begin on January 10.

“The government has taken note of reduced attendance in online primary classes and it has been decided to reopen schools for these students," School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash has said. Parental consent is required for students to attend classes, he added.

In a series of tweet, in Odia language, the government has said, “The government has decided to reopen about 26,000 schools in grades one to five in the state from January 3. Schools that are scheduled to take the Class I-1 exam for the 10th grade from the 5th to the 8th will be reopened from January 10th.”

“Schools will be open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., without lunch. Under the lunch plan, the dry food supply program will continue as before. The school will be notified by the designated SOP department to reopen,” reads another tweet.

Last week, the Odisha government had announced to appoint 11,403 teachers by 2022. As per CMO, in the first phase, recruitment of 4,619 teachers of Hindi, Sanskrit and Physical Education will be done and in the second phase, 6720 posts of TGT Art and Telugu teachers will be completed.