Plus II merges with Odisha Mass Edu dept

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 23:

The Odisha government today formally separated Plus II education from the Higher Education department and vested it with the School and Mass Education department.

All Plus II colleges in the state will come under the purview of School and Mass Education department.

A notification in this regard has been issued by the Higher Education department, informed Pradip Panigrahi, Minister Higher Education, here today.

According to the notification Plus II colleges, syllabus, the conduct of examinations and administrative matters will come under the purview of School and Mass Education department.

Following the segregation the state government will now receive additional Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhijan (RMSA) grants for curriculum and infrastructure development because of this move, said Panigrahi.

Earlier, the state used to lose funds to the tune of Rs 130 crore every year because of the old plan and the Union Human Resources Development ministry had advised the state government for segregation of Plus II from Higher Education department.

Further, Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Odisha will formulate syllabus on the lines of Central Board Secondary Education (CBSE).

Moreover, CHSE is likely to conduct the first-year examination instead of the earlier practice of it being conducted by school/college management, sources revealed.

The decision was taken on the basis of the report of the fact-finding committee formed by the state government.

“One of the major reforms suggested by the fact-finding committee was to prepare students to compete at national level examinations/entrances. The committee had also suggested for the adoption of CBSE pattern. The recommendations were also accepted by the state government and it has been decided to implement it from this academic session,” said Panigrahi.