BHUBANESWAR: Failed in annual examinations, a group of Class IX students on Wednesday locked the main gate of a government high school here and staged protest opposing the evaluation process and pass criteria. They demanded roll back of the decision.
The incident took place at Government High School in IRC Village when the students entered the school premises and locked the main gate from inside leaving teachers outside the campus. They alleged that they were failed as they were from the nearest slum. The students later staged protest demanding that they must be allowed for filling up of forms for the matric board exams-2021.
On being informed, police rushed to the spot and detained a student who was later released after giving an undertaking. Out of 460 students in Class IX, around 120 were failed in the 2019-20 academic session for not meeting the pass criteria. Initially, 164 students were failed. However, after some social activists moved OHRC opposing pass criteria and subsequent revision of attendance and marks, those securing 115 mark or 66 per cent attendance were put in the merit list and promoted to Class X.
However, only 40 students managed to meet the criteria and the remaining 120 students were declared failed, sources said. School authorities, who refuted the claims of the students, said it was not possible for them to allow matric exam form fill up of the failed students as their marks and attendance are too low.