Bhubaneswar: A few hours after the last date for raising objections to the Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET) 2019 answer key was extended, OTET students’ body warned to take to the streets October 14 if the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) fails to award grace marks to the examinees for its faulty answers.
According to the students’ body’s convener Dinabandu Pati, the OTET examination was conducted online in 45 shifts between August 5 and 15. And the answer key released by BSE October 5 has at least 10 mistakes in each shift.
“For instance: Question No 265 asked about the 26th Governor of Odisha. And it had four options like Professor Ganeshi Lal, Satyapal Malik, Naveen Patnaik and Ram Nayak. At a time when the correct answer should be Professor Ganeshi Lal, OTET claims it as Naveen Patnaik,” Pati said.
He added that another answer about the location of Odisha’s Chandipur left students stumped. The answer released by OTET says it as Bhadrak at a time when it should have been Balasore.
Sources said the last date for raising objections to faulty questions or answers (if any) was extended from October 10 to October 13 midnight.
Alleging haphazard marking in the test, the students’ body demanded at least 10 to 15 grace marks for the examinees. It warned to stage demonstrations October 14 if the authorities do not pay heed to its ‘legitimate’ demand.
Meanwhile, School and Mass Education (S&ME) Minister Samir Ranjan Dash assured that the BSE would look into it. “Action will be taken once we get the report from the BSE,” the S&ME said.
Notably, the BSE had cancelled the test, which was scheduled to be conducted offline, over alleged leak of question paper that went viral on social media January 16. Later, the examination was conducted in August. And this time, too, the exam papers were reportedly found doing the rounds on social media barely a few minutes before the commencement of the exam. The BSE, however, denied the paper leak.
