Bhubaneswar, Aug. 1 -- With the Odisha government issuing fresh Covid-19 guidelines for August on Saturday, speculations over reopening of schools for Classes I to VIII students are now gathering pace in the State.

While announcing the guidelines for this month, the Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Jena said the School and Mass Education department has complete authorisation to take a decision on whether to reopen schools at this juncture or not.

Reacting to the SRC's announcement, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash today said, "The guidelines were issued yesterday. The schools for classes 10 and 12 students have already been opened earlier, while offline classes of standard 9 students will commence from August 16."...