Bhubaneswar: The timings for morning for class 9 to 12 students are likely to change in view of the sudden rise in maximum temperature and possible heat wave conditions in the State, said Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Samir Dash on Tuesday.
While talking to reporters in Bhadrak, Dash said that the government on Friday had revised the class timings of Standard IX and XI students from the earlier 8.30 am – 10.00 AM to 7.00 am – 9.00 am.
Similarly, Class X and XII which were being held from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm have been rescheduled to 9.00 am – 1.00 pm.
“We are considering a proposal to change the timings of the morning classes keeping in view the problems faced by the students in view of the rising temperature,” said Dash.
However, the revision of the class timings of students had not gone down well with the opposition parties as well as the Odisha Secondary School Teachers Association (OSSTA).
On Saturday, OSSTA members had opposed the revised timings effected by the State government.
In a release, the OSSTA had said that the revised class timings will create problems for students as already the maximum temperature has recorded a sharp rise in the past couple of days. The maximum temperature in Bhubaneswar had breached the 40 degree Celsius mark last week.
Apart from OSSTA, Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja on Sunday had urged the State government to close schools before 11:30 am every day in order to ensure safety of students and teachers from the scourge of impending heat wave conditions.