After months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities are set to reopen in Odisha. The state government on Sunday announced the resumption of physical classes in colleges and universities from January 11. For the time being, this is only for the students in the final year of undergraduate and post-graduate courses.
This decision comes after considering the improvement in the COVID-19 situation and the academic loss faced by the students because of the pandemic. As per a notification issued by the Higher Education Department, the penultimate semester exams for the students of UG/PG courses will be held from March 16 to March 31 and the final semester exams will take place between June 16 and June 30.
The government has also issued guidelines for the conduct of classroom teaching which should be held regularly to cover all chapters of the syllabus. “Whenever possible, the physical classroom teaching shall be recorded and shared with absentee students”, read one of the guidelines.
It is mandatory for all the persons coming to colleges and varsities to wear face-masks. Social distancing should be maintained in classrooms and, if needed, crowded classes can be divided into batches and teaching hours in a day can be extended, the guideline said. Teachers, students, and staff residing in active containment zones are not allowed to visit their institutes.
Hostels will be opened from January 10 only for 2020- 21 final year UG/PG students as well as PhD, M.Phil. and other research scholars.
Classes will be conducted on all days to compensate for the previous loss, except for the examination period, Sundays, January 26 (Republic Day), February 16 (Saraswati Puja), and April 1 (Utkal Divas). The Common Holiday List – 2021 will not apply to these students.