BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday directed complete waiver of examination fees for the matriculation examination to be conducted by the Board of Secondary Education this year.
The Chief Minister decided to waive the examination fees in greater interest of the students in the pandemic-affected year. The State government will bear `27 crore for the waiver, a CMO release stated.
More than six lakh students will be benefited by the move. Each student is charged `420 towards examination fee.
Stating that Covid-19 pandemic has affected education in the 2020-21 academic year, the Chief Minister hoped that the examination fee waiver will not deprive any student from appearing the matriculation examination due to monetary problems.
The Chief Minister said that classes have started to give an opportunity to the students to clear their doubts and prepare for examination. The matriculation examination will start on May 3 and conclude on May 15. Classes for Class X and XII students will be conducted for a period of 100 days till April 28, 2021.