Odisha Parents' Federation welcomed the state government's decision to constitute a high-level committee to finalise the modalities of reservation for government school students in engineering and medical studies in the state. The committee will be headed by a retired High Court Judge.

This decision came after the Odisha Cabinet approved a proposal on December 28 related to the reservation for students of government high schools for admission to engineering and medical colleges which will be applicable from the next academic year onwards.

"This is the first time when a Cabinet took such a decision. We welcome the step and request the government to include all stakeholder like Parents' Federation Association and Teachers' Association in consultations," Basudev Bhatta Chairman of Odisha Parents' Federation said on Wednesday.

Bhatta said that government schools are not trustworthy in the view of parents due to the lacking of quality education. This committee will focus on providing quality education like Navodaya schools and Kendriya Vidyalaya. "We need to prepare our government school students to qualify the competitive examinations for the development of the education structure in the state," he said.