Human Resource Development minister spells out education reforms

PURI:Class X Board examination will be reintroduced in the 2017-18 academic session as per a remodelled assessment structure, said Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar. Students of Classes V and VIII will also have to appear for annual examination in March every year and supplementary examination for unsuccessful candidates would be held in May. Those who fail the test will be detained in the same class, said the Union Minister, adding that these decisions are a part of the reforms in the country’s education system.

As of now, students till Class VIII are allowed promotion to the next class without any annual examination.Addressing a meeting in Puri on Friday,  Javadekar said at least 1.5 lakh BEd teachers have registered under the Swayam programme for training. To a query on opening of more Central schools in Puri district, he assured to look into the existing facilities and consider the demand. The district has only one Central school.

‘BJP may exceed 120+ target’

The BJP leader Javadekar is on a two-day visit to Puri town to review party activities in Puri Lok Sabha constituency. Javadekar, who is in-charge of four Parliamentary seats in Puri and Nayagarh districts as a part of the BJP’s poll preparations for the 2019 elections, said the Naveen Patnaik-led State Government is a government of contractors and PC (percentage commission) is their only motive. “Contractors have become MLAs and MLAs have become contractors. Large-scale corruption is taking place in implementation of different Central schemes in Odisha. Officers and public representatives of the BJD are looting funds from various schemes,” he said.

Referring to the multi-crore chit-fund scam, Javadekar said many of the legislators in the State are involved and arrested in the scam. Although the State Government had announced formation of a `350 crore corpus for those who lost money in chit-fund scam and claimed to have identified around 75,000 investors, none of them have got a single rupee so far, Javadekar said.

The Union Minister, who interacted with people in 1,066 booths under the Puri Lok Sabha constituency, said the popularity of the BJD-led Government has nose-dived and Naveen has lost its credibility due to misrule. “They want to throw out this government and are in favour of the BJP,” he said, adding that the Saffron Party may exceed its 120+ Mission target. He further added that the recent Panchayat and Zilla Parishad elections reflect that BJP vote percentage has increased manifold even in coastal Odisha.