Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday directed the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) to waive the examination fees of matriculation students of this year. The decision will benefit more than 6 lakh students in the state. The decision will cost the state government Rs 27 crore.
Due to pandemic, schools were shut for more than nine months which hampered the studies. Schools across the state opened January 8 for Class X and XII students. They have been given 100 days to complete the syllabus and prepare for exam.
Earlier, January 5 the dates for filling up of forms for the annual High School Certificate Examinations-2021 were announced by the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha. Every student had to pay Rs 420 for the matric exam form fill up by January 27.
The filling up of forms will be conducted via online mode for students of regular, ex-regular and correspondence courses. The drive that began from 10 am of January 10 will continue till January 28 midnight, a notification issued by the Board stated.
Those students who fail to fill up forms within the stipulated date and time can do the same again between January 29 and February 2, the notification elaborated.
Notably, the drive for filling up of forms for regular as well as ex-regular students will be monitored by the heads of respective schools. Whereas, the same for correspondence courses will be supervised by the deputy secretary of regional Board office, the notification read. The Biju Chhatra Janata Dal had demanded fee waiver for Class X board exam students.