Odisha Notifies 15 Percent Reservation For Students Of Govt High Schools In Engineering And Medical Colleges

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government today formally notified fifteen percent reservation for students of government run high schools in engineering and medical colleges of the state. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had moved a historic resolution in the Legislative Assembly in this regard on March 23rd. The notification was issued today by the Skill Development and Technical Education Department in this regard.

The decision will bring in a level playing field for the students passing out from government institutes who are deprived of advanced coaching facilities. The government has also made its mind to implement the reservation from the coming academic year. Odisha has been witnessing a decline in the number of government school college students getting admission through the NEET and JEE centralized examinations mainly due to the rural and semi urban students of the state lacking proper coaching facilities like the private college students.

Earlier the government had issued a statement saying, “It is a fact that these centralized competitive exams require special skill sets which are imparted mainly through the coaching centers and online coaching classes. Due to such centers being limited to mostly urban pockets and the high economic cost of access to such facilities, thousands of meritorious students from the government school system are at a disadvantage and therefore, fare lower than their potential in the entrance exams. This is unfair competition for the vast majority of children in Odisha”.

To remove the inequalities and to facilitate entry of talented students of Govt High Schools in Engineering and Medical courses in #Odisha, the State Govt has notified reservation of 15% seats in Medical & Engineering colleges of State. pic.twitter.com/0sbR1IYGVO

— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) March 31, 2021