Nabarangpur records its best class 10 results, students uncertain about future

The lack of sufficient college seats in the district might force many students to take up farming or work as migrant labourers to support their families.

There might not be enough college seats in Nabarangpur colleges to absorb all the students who have passed their class 10 exams. Representational Image (File Photo | Express)

UMERKOTE: Nabarangpur may have produced its best Class 10th results with a record pass rate of 98.08 per cent this year but thousands of students are uncertain of securing admissions in colleges. The reason: Not enough seats are available in the southern district.

Of the total 16,106 students of 229 schools in the district, a whopping 15,932 have passed the High School Certificate examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha. This year, the annual tests were not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Amid the high success rate, the shortage of seats in colleges has comer to bite both the students and their parents. In Plus Two courses, the district has a total 8,119 seats. This means, 8,119 of the 15,932 students who cleared the exams will be able to pursue higher education and the rest 7,813 will have to look elsewhere.

Of the total 8,119 Plus Two seats, 4,648 is available in Arts, 2,306 in science, 1,080 in Commerce and 48 in vocational course. Of the 15,932 passed students, as many as 8,360 are male and 7,572 female.Similarly, among those have cleared the matric tests, only seven have been able score 90 per cent or A1 grade. Similarly, only 109 students secured A2 grade, 594 B1 and 2,022 scored B2.

A whopping 13,020 students managed to get C, D and E grades by securing less than 60 per cent. In such a situation, parents fear for the future of their sons and daughters. Sources said if deprived of seats in higher education, many students would have no option but to take up farming or work as migrant labourers to support their families.

President of district parents’ committee Ramakrishna Nayak appealed to the administration to take steps to ensure that all students continue their studies. “The parents’ committee has submitted a memorandum to the Nabarangpur Collector and district education officer in this regard. If a solution is not found soon, around 47 per cent of the passed students will have to discontinue their studies,” Nayak added.
On Wednesday, parents met Nabarangpur MP Ramesh Majhi and requested him to take steps open more vocational institutions and Plus Two colleges in the district.