Odisha to promote all students from Classes 1 to 8 for 2nd consecutive year

School and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash said his department has given a proposal to promote the students of Classes 1 to 8 as no offline classes could be held.

Published on: Mar 13, 2021, 23:58:32 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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For the second consecutive year, the Odisha government is planning to promote all students from Classes 1 to 8 to the next higher classes this year in view of the situation arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic and its resurgence of the infection in some states.

Students of classes 9 and 11, however have to appear for exams as they are attending offline classes. (HT PHOTO).

School and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash said his department has given a proposal to promote the students of Classes 1 to 8 as no offline classes could be held.

“Last year though students had attended classes there was no scope to hold examinations so we had promoted all of them. But this year any scope for students to attend classes is yet to happen. In my opinion with the resurgence of the pandemic in some other states in the country, there is hardly any chance of Classes I-VIII students coming to schools to physically attend classes. So like last year, discussions are underway on what can be done. However, the CM will take a final decision on this,” he said.

Students of classes 9 and 11, however have to appear for exams as they are attending offline classes.

On March 13 last year, the Odisha government had announced closure of schools and other educational institutions after the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus outbreak. Later, the school and mass education department postponed the examinations of all the classes starting from Class 1 to 9 and Class 11 as a preventive measure to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.

The minister said there is no plan to start the academic session in April due to the heatwave and the academic session will start from June as usual.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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