Odisha to conduct written board exams for students of 10th and 12th, no online options

 The Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Samir Dash has issued a statement confirming that the BSE Odisha Class 10 Boad Exam and CHSE Odisha Class 12 Board Exams will be held in offline i.e. pen-and-paper mode. Talking to media persons, Mr. Dash said that Odisha Govt plans to follow the Central Board of Secondary Education’s guidelines to hold the exam in the conventional mode i.e. in written mode. His statement comes as clarification against the several rumours and speculations that were doing rounds about the Odisha Govt planning to hold the Board Exams in online or digital mode. 

Talking to media persons on Thursday, Odisha School and Mass Education Minister said that owing to the prevailing situation of the pandemic; it is highly likely that the BSE Odisha 10th Board Exam 2021 and CHSE Odisha 12th Exam 2021 will be held through an extended schedule instead of its usual dates in February and March. Further confirming the delay in holding of Board Exams, the Minister said that “It is not possible on the part of both Board of Secondary Education (BSE) and Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) to conduct the examination in February and March, as many students cannot access the online classes.”

While not giving any specific timeline, Mr Dash also said that the state government is planning to reopen schools for Class 9 and above students in the state in near future. Talking about implication of school reopening on holding of the board exams, Mr Dash said that Odisha Class 10 and Class 12 board examination can only be held after a minimum of three months of class-room teaching. However, he said that the final decision about reopening schools will be taken by the state government keeping the students' interests in mind as per COVID-19 guidelines.”