Schools for classes 6 and 7 to reopen in Odisha

The Odisha government on Wednesday gave the go ahead to reopen schools in the state for classes 6 and 7 from November 15. However, online classes will continue to remain an option as offline mode of classes won’t be made compulsory for the students.

The teaching hours for both classes 6 and 7 will be from 9:30 am to 1 pm, the government order said. It added there would be no classes on Sundays and public holidays.

In consultation with their parents, the students can opt for either online or offline mode of teaching.

The hostels have also been allowed to open adhering to strict Covid protocols and sanitisation of common areas including the mess and toilet.

Earlier in November, School and Mass Education minister Samir Ranjan Dash had said of opening of schools in a phased manner after Diwali, and today’s decision is the first of the government’s order.

The caseload of new cases has been on the decline, with Odisha on Wednesday reporting 387 Covid positive cases.