Omicron fear: Govt defers move to restart classes I-V

Bhubaneswar: The state government on Sunday postponed the resumption of offline classes for students of I to V from Monday in view of the increase in Covid-19 cases.
The school and mass education department had decided on December 28 to reopen around 23,000 schools for students of classes I to V from January 3. The remaining 3,093 primary schools were planned to be reopened from January 10. It had even issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the resumption of primary classes. However, the director of medical education and training (DMET) had stated on December 29 that the decision on school reopening may be revoked in view of the rising Covid cases and Omicron fear.
On Friday, school and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash reiterated that schools will be reopened for the primary classes from January 3.
However, the minister said on Sunday, “The state government has postponed the reopening of these primary schools in view of rising Covid cases. Even parents and guardians have expressed concern over the rising Omicron cases.”
“Department officials had visited several schools and discussed with different stakeholders about the decision on reopening these schools. They had submitted reports to the government about their observations keeping the public health in mind. After considering the reports of the officials and opinion of parents, health experts and stakeholders, the government postponed the decision to reopen the primary schools,” said the official statement of the government.
Presently, offline classes for students of classes VI to XII are under way. Their classes will continue according to the previous schedule. The summative assessment examination for class X students will be held between January 5 and 8 following Covid protocols.
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