Odisha Govt Directs Primary Schools To Hold Parent-Teacher Meet Before Reopening

Bhubaneswar: With schools set to reopen for students of Classes I to VII on February 28, the state government has directed the headmasters to hold a meeting with the parents to enable them prepare their children wo have been away from classrooms for two years.

The School and Mass Education department, in a letter to the headmasters, has stated that they should conduct parent-teacher meeting for at least one hour from Saturday before reopening of the schools. The primary schools may arrange class-wise meeting taking into account the number of participants and availability of space. It should be held in adherence to COVID guidelines.

The department has also asked the schools to engage the students in extracurricular activities for the first week to make them familiar with physical classes again. The schools may hold classes on storytelling, art and crafts, painting, solving puzzles and clay modelling, it added.

“We understand that the children have been away from school for a long time. We don’t know how the past two years have affected the students during the pandemic and the lockdown. It is important that they should psychologically feel comfortable to remain schools for six to seven hours,” said a senior official in the department.

In order to prepare the students in this regard, the schools should hold a meeting with the parents and inform them about possible difficulties their children may face, the official added.