Odisha Schools to Reopen from Tomorrow (January 8) with Counselling for Teachers; Check Details Here

Odisha Government has decided to provide online counselling to the students of class 10th and class 12th as they have their board exams coming up and the schools are reopening from January 8 across the state.

Sameer Ranjan Dash, the Odisha Education Minister has directed the all district officers for education to draw in all the teaching staff from schools that are not going to be reopened and the retired staff to complete the course in due course of 100 days.

The main purpose behind recruiting the additional teaching staff is to assist in classes to ensure insufficient teaching staff strength or it will be impossible to finish and revise the course for the board classes, said Dash.

Read: Odisha Schools Reopening: Regular Health Check-Ups To Be Conducted In Schools And Colleges; Read Details Here

In a letter recommending the state education department, Sadhyabati Pradhan, the Chairperson of Odisha State Commission for Protection of the Rights of the Child said that it's common to have stress, fear, and anxiety in the duration of a pandemic or disaster.

That is why these schools must be provided with contact information of the counsellors who are available at the various departments at the district level for their expert opinion if and whenever required. Teachers should also be directed for psychological therapy.

Even the survey conducted in 30 districts, by OSCPCR, suggests that 85% of participants (especially children) preferred to reopen school campuses for regular classes.

Read: Schools Reopening: States which decided to resume normal classes in schools from January 2021

Further, the SOP concluded by the department specified that many students might be returning after suffering distressing events in the past few months and the teachers are requested to watch over children's mental and emotional wellbeing and take supportive measures wherever required.

As per the official, these days every school has a committee for Covid-19 monitoring to ensure the wellbeing of the students. At the same time, the Junior Red Cross (JRC) counsellors have been trained and qualified to communicate with the students. And once the schools reopen, JRC will intercommunicate with students in person to discuss the present scenario and give advice if required.