Odisha Minister Puts Matric Dropout Rate At 2.5%, Opposition Says State Tops In Country

Bhubaneswar: Even as the Opposition lashed out at the government for high dropout rate in ongoing Matriculation examination in Odisha, Education minister said it had dropped significantly from the last year.

Speaking to media persons in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said due to various measures taken by his department, the dropout rate in this year’s Matriculation examination has been brought down.

Drawing a comparison in the dropout of the last year and this year, the minister said, “More than 5.71 lakh students had appeared at Matric examinations in 2021-22. Out of them, 45,000 students skipped the examination, putting the dropout rate at 7.7%. This year, total 5,41,247 students had filled up the forms to appear at the examination. Of them, 13,058 students have dropped out at the rate of 2.5% so far.”

However, the minister said his department is taking steps to convince the students, who have dropped out, to appear at the supplementary examination. “Those students will be identified and the teachers and officials of the department will visit the houses of each student. They will meet the students and their guardians to persuade them to appear at the supplementary examination,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra said Odisha topped in the dropout rate among all states in the country. Lashing out at the government during the Zero hour in the Assembly, he said the high dropout rate reflects the poor state of education in Odisha.

Veteran Congress leader Narasingh Mishra also expressed his concern over the dropout rate among the Matriculation examinees.