Bhubaneswar: After one years & eight months, classroom teaching for Class-IX students has been started this morning with strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols.
As per the instructions of School and Mass Education (S&ME) Principal Secretary Satyabrata Sahu, all schools have been reopened for students of Class- IX for the academic session 2021-22.
The teaching hour for the Class-IX students was started at sharp 9 AM and will continue till 12.30 PM. The classes will continue on all days excluding Sundays and public holidays. There will be no recession or lunch hour.
The classrooms have been sanitized prior to the reopening of the Class IX students. Students and teachers have seen follow Covid-19 guidelines including the use of thermal scanning, mask, and hand sanitization in the schools.
All students, wearing masks and holding hand sanitizers, were seen entered to their schools with smiling faces. The students expressed happiness over the reopening of the schools.
Seating arrangements of students have been made in such a way that each student maintains social distance from each other. Now, teaching for Class IX and X students is going on in the schools across Odisha.
“After doing thermal scanning and ensuring wearing mask, students have been allowed to schools. Teaching will be done in four periods and they will be allowed to go home at 12.30 PM,” said a teacher of Zilla High School, Balasore.
In case it was found that some student has high temperature or any other Covid like symptoms, he/she will be sent to isolation room and local administration will be informed to take necessary steps, he said.
“Physical teaching has no alternative. It’s easier to understand any subject while doing physical classes than online. I am happy after a gap of two and eight months we will be able to attend class,” said a student of Unit-III Saraswati Sishu Vidyamandir of Bhubaneswar.
As the classroom leaving time for Class IX and X is different, it will not be difficult to ensure social distance among the students, another teacher said.
In view of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the classroom teaching of Class IX students has been suspended since March 2020.
The students are allowed to attend the classes either online mode or offline mode in consultation with their parents. Attendance is not mandatory for students in offline mode, sources said.
The school hostels have also been reopened for the Class-IX students from today.
The S&ME Department has already decided to adopt continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) for the Class IX and Class X students for the first time. Students and their parents should take this process seriously as these examinations will help the board to publish the results of the students.
The Department has planned to conduct four formative assessments and two summative assessments. These examinations will be conducted by the class teacher or subject teachers by September second week, November first week, January second week, and March second week.
The schools have been reopened for Class X and Class XII students from July 26 following improvement in the Covid-19 situation in the State. Later the classes of Class XI students will commence from September 15, the source said.