Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik writes to PM Modi, seeks clarity on timeline of board exams

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged PM Narendra Modi to bring about clarity on the timeframe for carrying out the Board and Higher Secondary Examinations and also the duration of the academic session 2020-21.

In a letter to PM Modi, Patnaik said in the absence of clarity on the academic session and both the Standard-X and Standard-XII Board examinations, all enrolled students and their parents/teachers are in a state of uncertainty. “It is leading to anxiety among all,” Patnaik wrote.

“As all competitive entrance examinations and admission to institutions of higher education are interlinked, national guidelines with tentative timelines will help the states in framing appropriate strategy. It will also help students who are anxious about the examination dates to plan and prepare accordingly. We have been trying to reach out to the maximum number of students digitally through different modes, but it is not possible to cover all students and prepare them to face Boards and different competitive examinations,” he said.

Patnaik also informed Modi that the state government has decided to keep educational institutions closed till December 31, for the safety of students after due consultation with different stakeholders and experts.

Last week, Odisha School and mass education minister Sameer Dash had said metric and higher secondary examinations in the state are likely to be delayed in the current academic session asserting that the exams would not be held without offline classes for at least 3 months.

“We’re bound to conduct exams for the sake of the career of our students. But we will definitely see that the students are not deprived of the teaching facility meant for taking the mandatory exams. Facility of classroom teaching for our students for a minimum of three months has to be ensured before the exams this time,” he said.

The Central Board of Secondary Education has recently announced holding of practical examination for Std-12 students in January this year, a move that has drawn flak from several people who asked how could the Board hold the exam without schools conducting a single practical class due to Covid-19. The CBSE, which is yet to arrive at a decision on the Std 10 and 12 examination schedules, is likely to do so in a week’s time.