Bhubaneswar: Close on the heels of the CBSE and ICSE calling off their respective annual Class 12 board examinations across the country, Odisha government on Friday announced the cancellation of the Plus II examinations in the State in view of the uncertain situation created by the second wave of Covid pandemic. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced the decision after chairing a key meeting in this regard.
The Chief Minister has said that the decision has been taken keeping in view the larger interest of the well-being of students, teachers, and parents. 'Life and well-being of our students is of foremost importance than everything else. If they are safe, there would be countless opportunities for the advancement of our society and civilization,' a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said.
The second wave of the Covid pandemic has resulted in a huge crisis in the careers of students and the livelihood of people, but life is most important. All the stakeholders would have to face a lot of troubles if the class 12 board examinations were conducted amid the second wave of the pandemic.
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CM Naveen has directed the CHSE to formulate 'a well-defined objective criteria' to award marks to plus II students after thorough consultations with experts within a stipulated time frame.
While praising the resilience, efforts and courage of the students and their parents during this utter crisis, Patnaik has assured that after the declaration of results through a rationalized evaluation criteria, those unhappy with the assesment will have an option to appear in the examination provided by the board as and when the situation becomes conducive.
However, the dates of the examinations will be decided by the conducting board at an appropriate time looking at the Covid situation in the country and State, the CMO release notede.
With the pandemic situation showing slow signs of recession and threat of a possible third wave of the viral disease outbreak looming, Odisha government had earlier postponed the plus II exams scheduled to be held on May 18 and said that it was waiting and watching the situation.
While the Odisha government had cancelled the Matric examinations this year in the wake of the pandemic resurgence, it had kept the decision on the plus II board exams on hold for a final announcement after further review in the first week of June.
The decision had evoked sharp reactions from the community of students even as the educationsists have been divided over the conduct of the exams. Political parties and their affiliations had also been calling the State government to call off the exams for the greater good of all.
On June 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there would be no exams this year for CBSE Class 12 students due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic across the country. "Health and safety of our students is of utmost importance and there would be no compromise on this aspect," a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.