Odisha Minister Softens Stand On Pass Criteria For Plus II First Year

Bhubaneswar: Taking note of the growing resentment of Plus II first year students in Odisha against compulsory pass criteria, the state government on Tuesday softened its stand.

Talking to the media here, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash said if the students feel that they are not prepared to appear in the annual examination with the new pass criteria, the state government will take a decision on this matter.

“The state government has no intention of detaining any Plus II first year student. All it wants is that they should be sincere in their studies,” he added.

Protesting the decision of the government, the students of Rama Devi Women’s College and Acharya Harihara Mahavidyalaya had staged a road blockade in the capital city earlier in the day. They maintained that the manner in which the government has fixed the new pass criteria all of a sudden and that too, at the end of the academic session, is unacceptable.

The minister, in a statement to the media on January 14 had said that Plus II first-year students will not be promoted to the second year if they score less than 33 per cent marks in the annual examination. If a student fails to secure an aggregate 33 per cent marks in the annual examination from February 15 to 29, remedial classes would be conducted for them and they will be allowed to sit for the examination again in May. If they fail to secure the minimum pass marks, there will be no promotion to the second year.