Students Protest Against Offline Exam In Odisha Capital; Know Their Demands

Bhubaneswar: Even as the Supreme Court dismissed a PIL seeking cancellation of offline exams for Classes X and XII to be conducted by all State Boards, CBSE and ICSE, the undergraduate (UG) students took to the streets in Odisha capital on Wednesday demanding that the 5th semester exams be conducted in online mode.

The UG students of various colleges staged the demonstration at Master Canteen Square here, alleging that despite their protest and assurances by the government to look into the matter, their demands have gone unheeded.

They alleged that the syllabus is yet to be completed and conducting offline exams will hamper their scoring.

Stating that the classes were conducted online, and six months course was covered in less than two months, the students said they are not fully prepared to take the offline exams. Instead, they demanded that either the exams are cancelled or the syllabus be curtailed by 50 per cent.

With the Higher Education Minister Arun Sahoo busy with Panchayat elections, the students said they will continue the protests till the Minister takes a decision on the matter.

Following directions of the Higher Education Department, the Universities are gearing up to conduct the exams in offline mode now. The exams are scheduled to begin on March 20.