Cuttack: The annual Matriculation Examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha began smoothly on February 19, with no cases of examination malpractice reported on the first day, Board said.

Exams held smoothly for First Language

BSE President Srikant Tarai said no student was found indulging in unfair practices during the First Language paper on the opening day of the examination. He added that the English paper, conducted on the second day today, was also held without any disruptions.

“Our only focus is to conduct the examination in a smooth and fair manner,” Tarai said on Saturday.

BSE silent on absentee figures

The BSE president, however, did not comment on the statement made by the School and Mass Education Minister regarding a large number of absentees.

“The Board has no specific information on this. Students who filled up the forms are appearing for the examination. Those who are absent may be facing personal issues. We are not aware of the exact reasons,” Tarai stated.

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Around 12,000 students absent: Minister

Earlier, School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond informed that around 12,000 students remained absent on the first day of the Matric examination in Odisha.

He said the department is examining the reasons behind the unusually high number of absentees and an assessment is underway to determine why the students did not appear for the exam.

No lapse, steps taken to prevent dropouts

The minister clarified that there was no lapse on the part of the department, as all necessary arrangements had been made to ensure students could appear for the examination without difficulty. Most absences, he said, were due to personal reasons.

He further noted that the state government has implemented several measures to curb school dropouts, including child tracking surveys, enrolment drives, and the ‘Aaa School Jiba’ campaign to encourage regular school attendance.