‘Admissions in schools must be over by July 15’
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BHUBANESWAR: The state government has asked all government-run and aided schools to complete admission to elementary and secondary schools by July 15.
“We could not conduct class exams as schools have remained shut since March 20. We have decided to start the admission in elementary and secondary schools from Monday. This year, admission will be held in all schools, even in those with less than 20 students,” said school and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Das. Last year, the government had decided to merge schools having less than 20 students with bigger schools close by.
The government has asked the school authorities to conduct the admission process between 7 am and 9.30 am on all working days. Only five students and their parents will be allowed into a school at a time for the admission process at government, government-aided and unaided recognised schools, madrassas and Sanskrit tols under the school and mass education department.
An official notification said headmasters have to ensure that all Covid-19 guidelines issued by the government such as use of masks, social distancing and sanitisation are followed strictly during the admission process.
A section of parents has opposed the move, saying it contradicts the Special Relief Commissioner’s Unlock1.0 guideline of not allowing children below 10 to step out of their homes before June 30. The Odisha Abhibhabak Mahasangha (OAM), the state-level parents’ association, said the admission process would go against a June 2 order where the government said schools and colleges would be closed till July 31.