No quota in Odisha hits 12K AP Odia students

The Odia-speaking people living in three districts of Andhra Pradesh have expressed resentment over a recent order of the Odisha Government not to provide reservation to them in higher and technical education in Odisha which they used to avail since 1986.

At meeting held at the Mandal Parishad Primary School in Purunapatna village, 3 km from here, the Odia Teacher’s Association of AP and representatives of the Odisa speaking people in Andhra urged the Odisha Government to roll back the order as it would hit the propagation of Odia language and culture in the neighbouring State.

The Higher Education Department of the Odisha in a recent order in letter No. 10161 has clarified that the no reservation would henceforth be given to the Andhra Odia speaking people to learn higher and technical education in Odisha. The Odia speaking people in AP used to get a fixed percentage of seats as reserved for them to pursue higher and technical education in Odisha like CT, BEd, Diploma, Engineering, PG, MCA, MBA etc.

Notably, in the district of Srikakulam, Vijayanagram and Vishakhapatnam, about 12,000 Odia students are reading from class I to degree level in 179 primary and high schools, 11 Plus II and four degree colleges.  While they get education in Odia medium up to 10th level, at the Plus II and Degree level, they are only provided books in Odia while they have to attend classes in Telgu medium. Hence, the reservation facility in higher education in Odisha for them was a boon as they don’t get the facility in AP.

To save the Odia culture and language in the Odia speaking region in AP, the Odisha Government had started the reservation policy for them in 1986.

Meanwhile, the Odia living in these areas in AP have said that while the AP Government has been providing all sorts of facilities to provide education in Odia medium by appointing Odia teachers, providing Odia books and allowing the students to write in Odia during exam up to 10th level, the Odisha Government’s recent decision would came as a big setback for them.  They said that to protect and promote Odia language and culture in AP, great leaders like Madhbabau, Gopabandhu, Parala King Krushnachandra Gajapati, former Chief Ministers Biju Patnaik and JB Patnaik etc took special efforts, but now withholding quota facility would act as a discouraging factor.  They even asked as to why they would tell their wards to read in Odia.