Schools in the State, which have been closed since the Covid-19 outbreak in March, are likely to reopen from New Year, informed School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash on Thursday.
He told reporters, “Schools may reopen from January. However, priority will be given to reopen Classes-X to XII in first phase.”
Except festival holidays, classes would be held on Saturdays and Sundays and other holidays. Examinations would be held after conduct of physical classes for at least 100 days. Around 6 lakhs students would appear in the Board examinations, Dash said.“In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, each student will be provided a question bank for preparation of the exams,’ the Minister added. Colleges and universities in the State may also reopen in the New Year. However, the Government would take a final decision in this regard, said Higher Education Secretary Saswat Mishra on Thursday.
Speaking to mediapersons, Mishra said, “We are hopeful that college students will be able attend classes from New Year. However, semester exams of UG and PG students are likely to be postponed. The exams will be held after conduct of physical classes for at least 70 to 80 days.”
He further said that reduction of syllabus would be taken into consideration if reopening of colleges and universities gets further delayed.
The fail percentage would increase if examinations are conducted on the basis of online classes, he added.