Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced on Friday that summer vacation for schools will commence on April 27, a decision prompted by the severe heat wave conditions currently affecting the region.
The announcement was made following formal recommendations from the School and Mass Education Department, a statement released by the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Despite the early holiday, the state government specified that all ongoing examinations, census-related tasks, and other official administrative activities will proceed according to their original schedule, it said.
School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond said that while the academic calendar typically schedules the summer break from May 6 to June 17, the current extreme weather necessitated an earlier start.
“However, considering the existing heat wave condition, summer vacation has been announced earlier,” he said.
He further said that the mandate applies to all government and private schools, issuing a stern warning that any school authorities found violating the closure order would be held fully liable for any untoward incidents.
The Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA), meanwhile, has issued comprehensive guidelines to District Education Officers regarding a “Summer Learning Programme” for students ranging from Shishu Vatika through Class 8 in government schools.
The program is intended to ensure academic consistency throughout the extended break by providing students with structured practice exercises and supplementary audiovisual materials.
To support this, OSEPA has prepared class-specific and subject-specific assignment sheets that will be distributed to students for study during the vacation period.
These assignments will be paired with related audiovisual content, which school authorities have been instructed to distribute to parents through dedicated school-level WhatsApp groups, it said.
Further, the DEOs have been asked to create grade-wise WhatsApp groups of parents in all government schools.
