Summary
The state government has issued guidelines, including a week-long rapport building exercise, aimed at creating a stress-free and fun-filled learning environment for the children
Primary and pre-primary schools in Odisha have remained closed for nearly two years owing to the pandemic
Schools in Odisha were abuzz as offline sessions for students of Classes I to VII resumed in government and private schools across the state on February 28 after a gap of nearly two years.
The students were asked to wear face masks, their body temperatures were checked with thermal scanners and sanitisers were applied on their hands as they entered the schools.
In some institutions, flower petals were showered on the students and teachers offered the children chocolates as they stood in queues before going to their classrooms.
"We were waiting for a long time for the schools to open. The kids were getting bored at home," a guardian told reporters in Bhubaneswar.
"The children were excited to come to school as they have no interest in attending online classes," she added.
Schools had held parents-teachers meetings on Saturday, with a hope for seeing positive participation from students on resumption of offline classes.
The government has issued guidelines, including a week-long rapport building exercise, aimed at creating a stress-free and fun-filled learning environment for the children.
The teachers will prepare a fixed timetable on rapport-building exercises, which will include open discussions for sharing good memories during the pandemic, hobbies, how children felt and what were their activities during the school closure period.
"The activities are being done to ensure that the fear a kid may have about going to schools subsides and they come regularly," a teacher said, adding that attendance on Day-I was beyond her expectations.
Schools were closed in March 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical sessions for higher classes and other educational institutions had begun earlier.
The government had announced earlier that the schools would open from February 14 but various district collectors sought additional time for undertaking cleaning, bush cutting and minor repairs.
The government cited rural elections, during which many schools would be used as polling stations, for the delay in reopening schools. Most of the polling personnel consisted of teaching and non-teaching staff of the School and Mass Education (SME) Department.
Last updated on 28 Feb 2022
