After Bhubaneswar, the ongoing students’ agitation over demands for cancellation of the Class 12, or Plus II Board examination, has now spread to Cuttack district as well. Scores of students at Narasinghpur College on Wednesday staged a road blockade to press for their demand to cancel the Board exam.
The agitating students blocked the Athagarh-Narasinghpur road for long hours. Following the agitation, vehicular traffic on the busy road has come to a grinding halt, causing inconvenience to the commuters.
Though the Narasinghpur police officials held discussions with the agitating students for a solution, it failed to yield results as the students refused to vacate the road till any administrative official reached the spot.
“Due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, our studies have suffered. Classes were held only for two months. The online classes also failed to help us. Today, we have staged a demonstration to demand for the cancellation of the Council exam,” said Raju Barik, a student.
Purna Chandra Sethi, another student said, “The State government is yet to understand how the students can appear the exam when the courses have not been completed.”
Sethi warned, “Our parents will not vote in the upcoming Panchayat polls if the government didn’t take steps for the cancelling the Board exam.”
On January 27, thousands of students had staged a protest at Master Canteen square in Bhubaneswar demanding the cancellation of Plus 2 Board exams in view of the Covid-19 situation.
On January 31, scores of students from various Higher Secondary schools congregated at the Master Canteen Square in the Capital city to press their demand for the conduct of the Board Examination. The protesting students said that they are prepared for the Board Examination which should be conducted at any cost as it has a bearing on their future.