Excitement and joyous spirit gripped the students of higher classes in Odisha on Monday as the schools reopened for physical classes after the State grappling with the 2nd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had shut the educational institutions four months back.

The classes for the 10th and 12th standard students in both the government and private run schools resumed amid strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines and a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SOP). The State government had shut down all the schools on April 19 after Covid-19 cases witnessed a sudden spike. The health crisis had also forced the government to cancel class 10 and 12 board exams.

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The School and mass education department had earlier announced the reopening of schools in view of the problems faced by students in online teaching mode due to erratic internet connectivity.

With students deprived of physical classes due to school closure, the government had launched YouTube live streaming of classes for students in standard 1-8 in 8 districts and standard 9-10 in all the 30 districts. However, the initiative had failed to pay dividends as only 40% of students could reap the benefits of the online mode of classes. As many as 60% of students were left in the lurch as they either could afford the luxury of smartphones or poor connectivity-linked hindrances. To reduce the study load in view of the pandemic-induced practical difficulties, the Board of Secondary Education and Council of Higher Secondary Education have also reduced the academic syllabus.

It was not made mandatory for the students to attend classes. Those who could not attend physical classes are being provided online class teaching, said officials of the school and mass education department.

There was an impressive turnout of 72% of students on the first day of physical classes. In strict conformity with SOP, special seating arrangements were made to ensure social distancing in the classes. A separate isolation room was kept ready for use in the event students or staff developed Covid symptoms, said authorities of several high schools in Bhubaneswar city.

As reports trickle in from various parts of the State, there was an impressive turnout of students for classroom teaching that recommenced today. The attendance varied from 60 to 80 percent from one institution to the other. The attendance is likely to go up in the coming days, said school and mass education department, officials.

“I had to skip the YouTube live stream online classes due to poor internet connectivity. My studies were affected due to an erratic mobile network. Physical classroom teaching has come in as a boon for me. I managed to clear my doubts in the study. My teachers put extra effort to clear the doubts”, said Rojalin Sahoo, a 10th class student of a school in Bhubaneswar.