Bhubaneswar, Nov 15 (IANS): After a gap of more than one and a half years, physical classes for 6th and 7th standard students resumed in Odisha on Monday.

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, classroom teaching for classes 6 and 7 students had been suspended since March 2020. The students have since studied online.

The schools reopened for classes 6 and 7 students with strict adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure prepared by the Odisha School and Education department.

The classes for the students started at 9.30 a.m. and continued till 1 p.m. The classes will continue on all days excluding Sundays and public holidays. There will be no recess or lunch hour, officials said.

The classrooms have been sanitized prior to reopening. At some places, schools have put murals with awareness messages to alert the children regarding Covid-19 infection while in some other schools the teachers welcomed the students with flowers, pens and chocolates.

"After doing thermal scanning and ensuring wearing of masks, students have been allowed to attend school. After completion of teaching, they were allowed to go home at 1 p.m," said Rajeswari Raypritiam, Headmistress, Unit 8 Boy's High School.

The students expressed happiness over reopening of the schools. "Physical teaching has no alternative. It's easier to understand any subject while attending physical classes than online. I am happy to attend the classes physically and to meet friends and teachers," said a girl student of Unit-III Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir of Bhubaneswar.

However, some students chose to attend the classes through online mode as vaccination of students under 18 years has not begun yet.

The students are allowed to attend the classes either through online or offline mode in consultation with their parents. Attendance is not mandatory for students in offline mode, sources said.