Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to resume offline classes of X and XII students from July 26, School and Mass Education secretary Satyabrata Sahu informed on Saturday.
The decision will be applicable to all government and private schools, he said.
“Schools will open between 10 am and 1.30 pm without recess hours. However, online teaching will continue for all classes including X and XII. Attending classes in schools will be the discretion of students. Schools holding matric exams will open only after the exams are over,” he added.
He further said that the district collectors will take a final call on the reopening of schools after reviewing the COVID situation in their respective districts.
“The decision to resume physical mode teaching was taken keeping in mind the problems faced by students in online teaching mode due to poor mobile (internet) connectivity,” he said.
Sahu said that 60 per cent of students have lost 150 days of regular teaching days because of poor connectivity because of which the resumption of physical teaching in classrooms became a necessity.
The schools will remain closed on all government holidays.
All teachers will be vaccinated on a priority basis before the schools are reopened and the District Education Officers (DEOs) have been instructed to ensure that all the COVID-19 protocols are strictly followed, he said.
Sahu further said that the government is mulling starting Class IX offline classes from August 16. “Preparations are on to restart Class XI from September 15 after completion of admission into Plus II courses,” he added.
