Bhubaneswar: In view of the COVID-19 situation in the state and protests by Class X students, the Odisha government Wednesday decided to cancel the annual matriculation examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) for the year 2021.
“In view of COVID-19 pandemic, the Matriculation Examination for the year 2021 has been cancelled,” announced School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash at a presser here.
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“As per the directions of Hon’ble Chief Minister on 15.04.2021, discussions were held with all the stakeholders of School and Mass Education Department and keeping in view of the upsurge of the pandemic situation of COVID-19, the Class X Examination conducted by BSE, Odisha scheduled to be held from 03.05.2021 and all Examinations of Odisha State Board of Madrasa Education scheduled to be held from 19.05.2021 are hereby cancelled,” a notification issued by the S&ME department in this regard read.
“The results of Class X Board will be prepared on the basis of an objective criterion to be developed by the Board. Any candidate, who will not be satisfied with the marks awarded to him/her on this basis, will be given an opportunity to sit in an examination as and when the conditions are conducive to hold the examination,” the official notification of S&ME department stated.
“The Director, Secondary Education, Odisha as the President of Odisha State Board of Madrasa Education will also take appropriate steps for awarding alternate mode of marks to the students who are supposed to appear in Madrasa Board Examination,” the department notification added.
Notably, hundreds of students from different government-run high schools across the state had met the S&ME minister at his residence in Bhubaneswar Tuesday morning.
The protesting students had urged the minister to clear the confusion hovering over conduct of matriculation examination amidst steep spike in COVID-19 cases in Odisha.
As the students could not get any clarity regarding the matter, they proceeded to Naveen Niwas later in the afternoon to put forth their demand before Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The State government had earlier postponed Class X, XII, UG and PG examinations in view of rise in COVID-19 cases.
PNN
