Odisha Educational Institutions to Remain Closed Until October 26

Considering the rising COVID-19 cases in Odisha, CM Naveen Patnaik announced that schools, colleges, and other educational institutions will remain closed till the end of Durga Puja vacation.

Durga Puja festival is a five-day event that will start on October 22 and will end on October 26, 2020. CM Patnaik also said that the reopening postponement decision is taken to alleviate the fears of parents and guardians who are concerned that with a spike in pandemic cases it would be unsafe to send students to attend physical classes.

Also Read Odisha Permits Visually-Impaired Teachers to take Online Classes from their Home

As per reports, Health and Family welfare department has also projected a rise in coronavirus cases and might reach 1.02 lakh with the number of active cases at 32,212 by the end of August.

The Odisha government started online classes via numerous digital platforms and also conceded that out of 60 lakh total government school students, 22 lakh couldn't’t avail the facility due to poor internet connectivity. Click Here to Read More 

Also Read 40 Colleges in Odisha Seek Permission from Government to Start New Courses, Increase number of Seats

After the centre released the guidelines for reopening of schools in September, the School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Das said that the Odisha government is working on making the decision regarding the same. 

To cope with the shortened academic year, the Odisha government also decided to edge off the study load by curtailing the school syllabus. 

Earlier on August 25, Patnaik had written a letter to the country education minister seeking the postponement of JEE Main and NEET 2020 again in the wake of COVID-19. Patnaik also suggested to open exam centres in all 30 districts of the state so as the precautionary measures can be abided at ease.