The Odisha State government has decided to increase the number of seats in higher secondary schools to meet the shortage of seats during the Plus II first-year admissions in the 2023-24 academic session, with over 96.4 per cent of students securing passing marks in the annual Class X board exams this year.
Speaking to the media, School and Mass Education Minister Pramila Mallik on Saturday said, "The state government will increase intake of high secondary schools if the need arises during Plus II admission," reports The New Indian Express.
The minister further said that the state government will take all possible measures to ensure smooth enrollment of the Class X pass outs in higher secondary schools in the new academic session. However, the seats will be increasing in schools only after considering the requirement at the district level, she said.
Mallik also said that the government will bring some changes to the existing pattern of summative assessment I and II. "The government has already done away with the relaxation students were being given during the time of COVID since last year. Accordingly, changes will also be made to the exam pattern," she said.
"We will also initiate the form fill-up process for the supplementary examination soon to ensure students don't lose a valuable year and are able to take regular admission in the academic year," Mallik said.
Looking at Class X Board exam results
Notably, a total of 5,08,405 students cleared the Class X Board exams conducted by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha this year taking the overall pass percentage to a record 96.4 per cent compared to 90.55 per cent in the previous year.
Sources, however, said that there may not be any shortage of seats this year as the total strength of higher secondary schools has already increased from 5.04 lakh seats in 2021-22 to 5.09 lakh in 2022-23. Besides, the state also has around 1.55 lakh seats in government and private Industrial Training Institutes and polytechnics.
Though seats had been increased in Higher Secondary Schools last year following 90.55 per cent result in Class X last year, statistics suggest that around 1.03 lakh seats remained vacant.
