Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), June 20: School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond announced on Thursday that decisions regarding the reopening and operating hours of schools would be reassessed in light of current weather conditions.
He stated, “We had previously instructed district collectors to determine whether schools should reopen or adjust timings for classes I to XII across government, aided, and private schools, considering local weather conditions. If weather permits, classes can be held from 6.30 am to 10.30 am.”
In a subsequent notification, the department clarified that schools statewide would be open from 6.30 am to 10.30 am on June 21 and would resume normal operations from June 22 onwards.
Responding to this directive, several districts, including Ganjam, Bhadrak, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Sonepur, and Sambalpur, had previously decided to keep schools closed until June 20. Meanwhile, districts like Khurda, Cuttack, Deogarh, Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Angul, and Puri permitted schools to reopen on June 18, operating from 6.30 am to 10.30 am until June 20.
Similarly, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, and Keonjhar reopened schools on June 18 with morning classes scheduled until June 22. In Balasore and Kendrapada, schools reopened on June 19 with morning sessions, while Nayagarh and Mayurbhanj opted for morning classes from June 20 to 22.
The directives issued to district collectors were effective until June 20.
