School Summer Vacations 2023: Odisha launches Holiday Homework Project for school kids

BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to ensure that children are in touch with studies during the summer vacation, Odisha government has launched Holiday Homework Programme. The school and mass education department has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) to all schools from class I to X for successful implementation of the programme for school students during the ongoing summer vacation.
The government has issued a toll free number for the students to be in touch with the help desk and to get telephonic guidance from teachers.
As per the notification issued by the School and Mass Education department, the programme started functioning from May 1 and all the district administrations have been directed to follow the SOP strictly.
A help desk has been opened in every district for the holiday homework programme where four teachers including subject experts have been asked to guide the students over telephone on completing their homework. Students can ask on the toll free number their doubts. The cell will remain operational on all working days from 6 am to 6 pm except holidays. Teachers will help them in solving their problems. The holiday homework programme will be monitored on an everyday basis, official sources said.
In the wake of severe heatwave conditions in the state the government had preponed the summer holidays by three weeks and declared closure of schools from April 21 instead of May 5.
“Since the holidays have been declared earlier this year children have lost several working days. While private schools shifted to online classes children in government schools end up doing nothing in the vacation. It is indeed very helpful for the children if they could get guidance from teachers during the vacation,” said Pravati Sahu, a mother.
However, teachers are disgruntled over the arrangement and said it would overburden them. “Teachers don’t have life or vacation? We are engaged in so many non-academic works throughout the year. We used to get a few days of rest during the summer vacation. That too the government took away by launching this programme,” said a teacher.