Bhubaneswar: In view of the COVID-19 pandemic in Odisha, the state government has decided not to conduct the students’ union election in any university and college this year, official sources informed.
The Higher Education Department, however, is yet to issue an official notification in this regard.
Sources in the department said that one of the reasons is the low turnout of students for physical classes, which are also not being conducted regularly due to the pandemic. Classroom teaching for Plus III students is yet to begin as the admission process is on. The first semester examinations of Plus III and postgraduate students have also not been conducted.
This will be the fourth consecutive year when the students’ union election will not be conduted in Odisha.
The student’s union election was put off in 2018 due to Cyclone Titli while the state government called it off in 2019 due to violence in universities and colleges amid the Assembly and general elections. Vice-chancellors and the principals of all government and non-government degree colleges had recommended the same.
The election was also not conducted in 2020 as all educational institutions remained closed amid COVID-induced lockdown.
