Odisha to reopen schools on Oct 21 for Class XI and Oct 25 for Class VIII

In light of the COVID situation improving in the state of Odisha, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash announced that physical classes will commence for Class XI on October 21 and for Class VIII on October 25. A notification regarding the same will be issued soon, he informed.

While it was in July that the coastal state reopened schools for students from Classes X and XII, a decision is yet to be taken for Classes I to VII. This will be done at a later stage, informed Dash. As of now, on account of Durga Puja and Kumar Purnima, the schools were closed on October 9 and will reopen only on October 21.

Dash also informed that they will be conducting a meeting with the district education officers (DEOs) with regards to opening schools for Classes VIII and XI today (October 16) and issue instructions to initiate preparations for the commencement of these classes. He also stated that while the classes will be conducted as per the usual timings, a detailed programme regarding the same will be released by the department.

As many as 521 new COVID cases, including 65 children and adolescents, were logged in Odisha as of October 15 and the rate of infection stands at 12.47 per cent. The caseload of the state is 10,33,809 and the death toll due to the Coronavirus is 8,274.