Union Minister urges Odisha CM to adopt uniform schedule for students amid COVID-19 lockdown

Bhubaneswar: Expressing concern over future of students during COVID-19 pandemic, Union MSME & FAHD Minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi has requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to adopt a uniform schedule for students of the State like other states for study.

In a letter to Patnaik dated April 20, Sarangi wrote, “A uniform schedule may be adopted across the states in consultation with the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India so that the students of our State avail the same opportunities for study in the country as much as the students of other states.”

He laid emphasis on the mental stress that students, who have appeared in the annual examinations like Matriculation, Plus Two and Graduation, are currently going through due to outbreak of COVID-19 and nationwide lockdown.

“This is the period during which the results of Matriculation, Higher Secondary and Graduation examinations usually come out. But due to the outbreak of Coronavirus and subsequent nationwide lockdown, the examination schedules have been disrupted. Matriculation examination in Odisha has been over, but papers have not been evaluated and similarly, other examinations in our colleges/universities have not begun as yet. All these have cascading impact on the state level and also All India level entrance examinations for professional courses,” the Minister said.

He said that even the parents of the students are anxious to know about the course of action being contemplated by the Government regarding their unfinished examination and evaluation which will determine their future.

In larger public interest, Sarangi appealed to Patnaik to instruct the authorities to clear the misgivings about the examinations or evaluation schedule and come out with the future course of action as the online system is to be resorted to and social distancing is to be followed for some more time to come.