By Purushottam Nayak
Bhubaneswar: The all-pass for Odisha’s tenth graders have disappointed several students, says a Church official in the eastern Indian state.
“The future of students has been very much affected, especially those who scored only D and E grades,” said Father Vjay Kumar Ekka, the regional secretary of the Odisha Church’s Commission for Education.
On June 25, Odisha’s Board of Secondary Education declared the tenth grade exam results for the 2020-2021academic year.
Students who received low grades will face problem to get admission in colleges. “My heart sinks with these results,” the priest told Matters India on June 28.
No school in the state recorded ‘zero’ result this year. The board published the results without conducting the public exams that were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic has shattered the future of many students,” bemoans Father Ekka.
Nice Balliar Singh of St. Catherine’s Girls’ High School, Raikia, in Kandhamal district agreed with the priest.
“It is my fate,” the tenth grader told Matters India. The written exam, she added, would have given her an opportunity to prove her basic skills, develop critical thinking, time management and ability to analyse.
Among the disappointed was Handmaids of Mary Sister Patricia Lakra, head mistress of St. Mary’s Girls’ High School, Rourkela of Sundargarh district.
“We had good results in the previous year but this year non-performer schools are equal with our school is a disappointed thing to happen in Covid-19,” lamented Sister Lakra, who heads one of the oldest schools in the district established in 1954.
The nun says the cancellation of exams led to students not getting true knowledge. “That will not help them in their career at all. They would be able to face entrance test for admission in better colleges,” she explained.
According to her, students from tribal communities would be “the real victims” of the system that passes students without examination. “It would lead to their dark future,” the nun added.
Abhishek Nayak, a student of Vijay High School, Raikia, Kandhamal, said he was “sincerely not happy” with the results. He said his marks did not match his ability of writing skills. “The whole year’s preparation at home could have fetched more mark if I had faced written test,” he asserted.
“I am not able to decide which line I should concentrate for my future study. I had confidence of getting better mark by writing offline examination,” he told Matters India.
Not all students are unhappy.
Shibsundar Majhi of Kusumdegi High School of Rourkela thanked God’s blessing for doing well in his matriculation examination. “But I could have secured better marks if I had appeared for the exam in the school,” he added.
Ashok Digal, a guardian, says the results were “a blessings in disguise” as students can go to the college without proper foundation of knowledge.
Handmaids of Mary Sister Iganatia Lakra, secretary of St. Mary’s Girls’ High School, Rourkela of Sundargargh, says the results have made poor students happy and disheartened the bright ones.
“Without sincere hard work the poor students have become equal with brilliant students,” regretted the nun.
The Church in Odisha manages 29 high schools.
These students may have been denied of an opportunity for taking part in an examination where they could have shown their academic excellence but they have reason to rejoice that they are alive.