Plus II First Year Students Protest Against Compulsory Pass Criteria Of 33 Per Cent Marks

Bhubaneswar: Students of junior colleges staged a road blockade at several places on Monday to protest against the decision of the Odisha government making it compulsory for Plus II students to secure at least 33 per cent marks in the first year.

According to reports, Plus II students of BJB Autonomous, Ekamra, Debray, Rajdhani , Maharshi College of Natural Law, Patia and Biju Patnaik Colleges in Bhubaneswar, SCS College in Puri, Jatni College in Jatni and JKBK College in Cuttack staged a road blockade and even burnt tyres.

“The state government should have announced the decision at the beginning of the academic session. Now that the annual examination is just a month away, we don’t have much time to prepare. Secondly, the courses for the first year are not yet complete. Under such circumstances, how can we appear for the examination? We demand that the state government should either give us more time or implement its decision from the next academic session,” the students told the media.

However, allaying the apprehension of the students, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash assured that the annual examination will be conducted by the college authorities.

“Unlike previous years, the annual Plus II examination in Odisha this year will be held in an organised manner. After all, the motive of the government is not to fail any student. All I want to tell the students is that they should study sincerely,” the minister added.

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.