The reopening of physical classes will be for classes 8 to 12, colleges, universities and other technical educational institutions. Students of classes KG to 7 will be called back from February 14.
As the Covid cases are starting to decline in the state, Odisha government has decided to reopen schools and colleges across the state from February 7.
The announcement was made by Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra at a press conference on February 3. He announced that physical classes for students from Class 8 to 12, colleges, universities and other technical educational institutions will reopen from February 7.
Classes for students from KG to 7 are scheduled to reopen from February 14, said the Chief Secretary.
This announcement has come a few days after the Odisha Higher Education department had to issue an official clarification against a fake notice that had been circulating on the internet. “A fake letter is circulating in social media purportedly conveying decision of Higher Education Department to reopen colleges and universities from 10th Feb’2022. It is hereby clarified that no such decision has been taken by the state government,” the department clarified on social media platform, Twitter.
History
Ancient and medieval era
Historically, Odisha has been at the forefront of education and research. The ruins of a major ancient university, Puspagiri, were recently discovered in Odisha. Scholars from far away lands, such as Greece, Persia and China used to study philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and science at this famed university. Along with Takshashila and Nalanda universities, Puspagiri was among the oldest universities in the world. All three universities were mentioned by the Chinese traveler Huien Tsang (Xuanzang), who visited India in the 7th century, but unlike the others, the whereabouts of Puspagiri university were unknown until recently. As of 2007, the ruins of this university have not been fully excavated yet.[1][2] Odisha's education prospered under Hindu and Buddhist rule. However, it went into a period of decline under the Sun dynasty, after 1568. The Muslims and the Marathas, who occupied Odisha before the British, did little to spread education.[3][full citation needed] Before the creation of modern Odisha, the mainstay of the education system were the Sanskrit Pathsalas, and the Maktabs, which existed in Cuttack, Balasore, Puri, Angul and Sambalpur, local Chatasalis to cater to grassroot level education, as well as advanced centers of Oriental learning.[4]
Colonial era
The colonialization of Odisha by the British East India Company in 1803 proved disastrous to Odisha in all spheres. It led to the collapse of the traditional education system. Yet, Odisha being one of the last Indian territories to come under the British rule became exposed much later than other parts of India to the system of education they introduced. Under the East India Company, Christian missionaries who took up printing the Old and New Testaments in Odia, also contributed to some growth in education. The first primary school was created in 1822 by missionaries.
The Cuttack Zilla school, Odisha's first modern school up to matriculation level, was established in 1866. It was extended to become a Collegiate school in 1868, which provided first and second year college education to Odia students. However, Odias were severely disadvantaged by having to attend Presidency College in Kolkata for B.A. degrees. This was until the collegiate branch of Zilla school was converted into a full bachelor's degree granting college under the then commissioner, T. E. Ravenshaw. This college was named as Ravenshaw College after him.
In the early 20th Century, Gopabandhu Das established the 1st nationalist school in Odisha, the Satyabadi Bana Bidyalaya, following which Sayeed Mohammed established the second nationalist school of Odisha at Cuttack named the Muslim Seminary (present day : Sayeed Seminary). These nationalist schools aimed to cultivate the ideals of patriotism in the hearts of the students.
Women's education was taken up with the establishment of the Ravenshaw Hindu Girls' School in 1873. The Maharajah of Keonjhar, the Rani of Talcher, amongst other notable Odia personalities, who made contributions. Later, Reba Ray, a former student of this school, Begum Badar un nissa Akhtar and Sailabala Das became instrumental in furthering the cause of women's education, leading to the creation of the Sailabala Women's College, Cuttack which was founded by Sailabala Das in the year 1913.
Medical education began with the opening of the first medical school in 1876, by Dr. Stewart, the Civil Surgeon of Cuttack, who also translated the Materia Medica into Odia. The first industrial school was opened in 1884, in Alalpur, Balasore. A survey school began at the same time in Cuttack, which later on became the Orissa School of Engineering, marking the beginnings of technical education in the state.[5][full citation needed]
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