Students to travel 40 km to attend HSC exam

PARADIP: HSC students have expressed displeasure over being allotted far away examination centres in violation of the directives of the School and Mass Education Department and the Orissa High Court.HSC examination will begin on Monday and 18,318 students of 285 high schools take the tests from 71 centres in Jagatsinghpur district.  The Department conducted a preparatory meeting for smooth conduct of the examination with District Collector Narayan Chandra Jena presiding over it on Saturday.The students argued that travelling to far off places would be a waste of both time and money. Some students have been allotted centres, about 40 km from their school.Pallibrabha High School under Raaghunathpur block is one such case. The guardians have sought the intervention of the District Collector and authorities concerned for a change in the examination centre.The students have been allotted centre at Pankpal High School, which is 40 km from their school. With the examination beginning at 7 am, it would be difficult for the students to travel the distance. The Department had categorically stated that examination centres should be within 5 to 10 km but the officials seemed to have ignored the directive, said a parent, Sudrasan Swain.Similarly, in an earlier judgment the High Court had directed the Board of Secondary Education, Cuttack, to change the centre of a high school in Bhadrak district following non-compliance of the 5 to 10-km distance limit. Besides, students of Swapneswer Vidyamandir, Jagannathpur, and Narendra Vidyamandir under Raghunathpur block have been allotted centres beyond 15 to 20 km.While the demand of the students has gone unheard, the poor ones have threatened to boycott the examination. Circle Inspector of Schools Prasant Kumar Swain said all precautionary measures had been taken to check exam malpractice. It is difficult to allot all school centres within 5 to 10 km because of certain factors, he added.