BHUBANESWAR: Higher secondary schools (HSSs) in Odisha seem to have more strength than the actual demand as over two lakh Plus II seats have fallen vacant following two rounds of admission to Class XI in the first phase.
Sources in the School and Mass Education department said the total number of registrations prior to Plus II admission was also about one lakh less as compared to the total number of seats available in the HSSs.
As per the statistics of the SME department, about 2,429 HSSs having a total seat strength of 5,72,715 participated in the admission process. However, following first and second selection in phase I, about 3,71,207 students enrolled, leaving the rest 2,01,508 seats vacant.
Out of 4,46,205 applicants who submitted forms online in the first selection, around 4,13,804 were selected for admission to different Plus II courses through the SAMS e-Admission portal. An additional 52,955 applicants were selected for admission based on merit, leaving the remaining seats vacant.
The seat vacancy at Plus II first-year level in the state was also 1.34 lakh in 2024-25 and 1.5 lakh in 2023-24. The large-scale vacancies, in the recent years, however, not only reflect a lower turnout of students in HSSs but also highlight the gap between the number of available seats and the actual demand. Besides, the total number of students who cleared the matric board exam in the state this year was also less than five lakh.
With classes already started for the Class XI students from July 24, a majority of the left out seats are set to remain vacant. SME officials, however, said another 25,434 applicants have been selected under spot selection in the first phase. The admission process for these selected applicants will be carried out from August 8 to 16.
They said the current enrolment of 65 per cent is also an indication of wider reach of the e-Admission system in the state.