Relief For Students As Odisha Govt Hints At Reconsidering Mandatory 33% Pass Marks Decision

Bhubaneswar: In the wake of massive protests by students over the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE)’s decision to make 33 per cent pass marks compulsory for Plus II first year students for promotion to second year, the Odisha government on Tuesday assured to reconsider the decision.

School and Mass Education (S&ME) minister Samir Dash today said the government will revisit its decision before moving ahead with the decision to implement the new rule from this academic year.

The minister said, "The government has not taken any hard and fast decision in this regard. Since the mandatory 33 per cent pass percentage system was already in place earlier, the government wanted to bring some reforms. But if students think they have not prepared well and the norm should be introduced from next year, the government will take their suggestion into consideration as it does not have any intension to fail any student.”

The minister’s statement came as a relief for scores of Plus II students across the State who have been hitting the streets protesting the decision since last few days.

Prior to the announcement by the minister, hundreds of Plus II students of Ramadevi Women's University, Acharya Harihar College in Bhubaneswar, SCS College in Puri took to streets to protest the CHSE decision.

The students contended that such decision at the end of the academic year is not acceptable and demanded the government to introduce the system from next academic year.