Odisha Govt Asks Collectors To Allow Plus II Evaluation Centres To Remain Open During Weekend Shutdown

Bhubaneswar: The School and Mass Education Department has requested the district administrations to allow evaluation centres to remain open during weekend shutdown and movement of persons associated with it for time-bound publication of Plus II results.

In a letter to the District Collectors, SPs and Deputy Commissioner Police (Bhubaneswar-Cuttack), principal secretary Chithra Arumugam wrote: “Since evaluation matter is urgent in nature and contains time-bound publication of result, you are therefore requested to permit the respective evaluation zones to remain open on Saturday and Sunday (the weekly shutdown period) to allow the examiner, technical support staff and others associated with the evaluation process for to and fro movement between their residence and evaluation zones upon production of appointment letter or identity card.”

On July 13, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash had told the media that the evaluation process has been delayed as teachers are unable to come to the evaluation centres due to the lockdown and shutdown in the COVID-19 hotspot districts. The minister had further said he will write to the chief secretary to direct the collectors to allow the evaluation in their respective districts.

The department has also expressed concern over the absence of evaluators during the exercise due to the shutdown restrictions and sought the intervention of the director of Higher Secondary Education.

“The Plus II evaluation has been badly affected by the low attendance of the evaluators in the valuation zones. In some cases, the attendance of the evaluators is 50 per cent or low in many zones. In order to ensure timely publication of result, the joining up more numbers of evaluators at respective zones/centres is quite necessary at this moment,” additional secretary Pratap Kumar Mishra wrote.