Worried by Class X exam dropouts, Odisha government plans survey

BHUBANESWA: The school and mass education department will find out the reasons behind large-scale absence of examinees in the ongoing high school certificate (HSC) examination and take up door-to-door survey to identify the dropouts.
The matriculation examination (summative assessment-II) conducted by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) started from Friday. Though the board did not reveal the exact number of absentees, sources said, more than 15,000 students did not appear for it.
Official sources said the BSE will find out the reasons after the end of the examination. Sources said many students have dropped out of school and helped their family by working as labourers in agriculture, construction and other sectors. Some of them could not continue their education as their parents shifted to other states in search of work.
School and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash said they will find out the reasons behind the absence of students in the HSC examination. "After the examination is over, we will analyse the matter and find out where the problem lies," he added.
He said they will take this matter seriously and find out the reasons for the massive absence. The department will conduct orientation of the headmasters of high schools and hold door-to-door surveys to know the reasons.
A clerk of Government Girls' Nodal High School, Kakatpur, in Puri district was suspended for violating the rules prohibiting mobile use during the time of HSC examination. Centre superintendents of Kakatpur Girls' High School and its nearby Government Girls High School, Nayahat, have been relieved from the responsibility.
After an audio featuring deal with a guardian of a matric examinee and a teacher for allowing malpractice in the examination centre, superintendent, deputy superintendent and the total invigilators team of Haripur high school in Nimapada have been replaced with a new team.
Biswajit Ghosh, district education officer, Puri, said they have completely changed the team of Haripur high school. "We have told them not to enter the high school till the examination is over," he added.