The Odisha State Government, on Friday, May 6, said it will look into the issue of the large-scale absence of students in the ongoing Matric Board examination. School and Mass Education Secretary Bishnupada Sethi said that there is no specific reason behind the absence of students in the exams. He, however, ruled out any kind of forgery.

Though 5,71,909 Class X students had enrolled for HSC examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education this year, 46,000 of them have not turned up for one or more papers, triggering apprehensions about the Class X enrollment. Teachers said that the students who are appearing for the Board examination this year have suffered learning loss and could not attend schools properly since their promotion to Class IX two years back, owing to closure of schools.

“In many cases, teachers have visited homes of these students to bring them to schools and complete their form fill up,” he said and added that it could be one of the major reasons behind such large-scale absence of students.