Uniform row: BSE to probe student 'missing' HSC exam

BHUBANESWAR: The state government ordered an inquiry into the circumstances leading to an examinee not appearing for the HSC examination (summative assessment-II) in Nayagarh district's Daspalla on Friday. Pradeep Nayak, a Class X student of Radha Mohan Jew Nodal High School, Daspalla, went to appear for the examination at Daspalla Boys' High School.
As he was not in his school uniform, one of the teachers asked him the reason behind it. Immediately, the student from Krushna Chandrapur Patna village left the place. On coming to know about the incident, his family members started searching for him. Later, locals found him near the centre.
"As the pant of my uniform was wet, I wore denim with a shirt and went to appear for the examination. A teacher at the school scolded me for not wearing school uniform. I returned home to check whether the pant had dried, but it was still wet. With a heavy heart, I went outside and sat under a mango tree," said the student.
The teacher said she did not debar the boy from appearing in the examination. "When I asked him whether he has uniform pant or not, the boy said yes. He immediately left the place in a motorcycle. I have never ever troubled any student," said teacher and invigilator of the examination centre Raj Laxmi Mahapatra.
Sources from the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), which is conducting the HSC examination, said nobody barred the student from appearing in the examination.
School and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash said there was no clarity in the incident. "We do not know what exactly happened. I have told the BSE president to inquire into the matter," he added.
Minister said different schools have their own uniforms. "Students should stick to it. But this is a new case for us. We have never encountered such a problem. We will discuss on whether wearing the uniform is mandatory or not," he added.