Angul: The state education department has already issued a circular regarding admission into schools and communicated with district education officers (DEOs) accordingly. However, parents and students of Angul are under the apprehension that admission process might be hampered.
The admission process which started June 8 will continue until July 15 this year. The DEO office in Angul has issued circulars to all block education officers (BEOs) and school headmasters in this regard.
Even as most schools of the district have been turned into quarantine centres, it has raised doubts as to how the process will be carried out. The DEO authorities have been looking for alternative arrangements.
It is known that the COVID-19 outbreak has severely impacted the education system in Angul. Keeping the safety of students in mind, schools in the district were closed much before summer vacation. The state government even cancelled all examinations just after the matriculation exams were over.
Although the state government has already notified that schools will reopen after July 30, it has also urged to complete the admission process before that.
Notably, Angul district has 1,666 schools, of which 1,418 are primary and 248 are secondary schools. About 305 schools here have been turned into quarantine centres, which have accommodated hundreds of returnees. Other schools are being used by DEO authorities for evaluation of matriculation answer sheets.
On the other hand, local sarpanchs are being reluctant to vacate quarantine centres, saying it to be risky to use without proper sanitisation. Parents and students are scared to come to schools.
As transfer certificates are essential for taking admission, it has become another problem for both the parents and students. About 1,52,000 students studying in different classes are awaiting admission.
Reacting to this, a senior official of the DEO office said, “Only one per cent of the students in Angul district have taken admission so far. Arrangements are being made to issue transfer certificates to students studying in schools that have been turned into quarantine centres”.
Solution to the problem which appears to be tough now would certainly be found out ahead of time, the official expressed.
PNN