Cuttack/Bhubaneswar, March 22: A 14-year-old girl in Kendrapara allegedly attempted suicide barely 12 hours after the state government announced the postponement of the annual high school certificate (HSC) examination for regular candidates. She is now battling for life at S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack with nearly 70 per cent burn injuries.
The girl, Rashmita Mahalik, a Class X student of Chakradharpur High School, tried to set herself on fire this morning after the news of postponement of matric exams became public. Rashmita’s mother, Laxmi Mahalik, said she seemed disturbed when she heard about it.
The decision to defer the exam was taken by the state government late last night following the theft of question papers of seven subjects from a high school in Puri. The issue also found an echo in the state Assembly with school and mass education minister Pratap Jena assuring that severe action would be taken against those found guilty of the theft.
The question papers were reportedly stolen from the principal’s room at the Bhagabati Bidyapitha in Kakatpur, Puri, on Tuesday night.
Laxmi, a homemaker, said she was cooking when she heard Rashmita’s screams from the adjoining room around 7.30am. “I rushed to the other room and saw her in flames. She had doused herself with kerosene,” the mother said, sobbing uncontrollably.
Rashmita’s two younger sisters were also at home when the incident took place. Her father works as a plumber in Calcutta. “We suspect she might have taken this extreme step out of fear of appearing for the exam all over again,” Laxmi said.
Sub-divisional police officer of Pattamundai, R.C. Goud said preliminary investigations had revealed that Rashmita was shocked over the exam postponement, which might have led her to take the drastic step.
Frustration shows
The postponement of matric exams has elicited sharp reactions from students, parents, and academics.
The board of secondary education will reschedule the examinations for regular candidates and the dates will be announced within 20 days. They said all papers of the exam, except Odia, would be conducted afresh.
“We had been preparing very hard for the exams but now it is very frustrating that it will be conducted all over again, after 20 days. This is a big distraction,” said Swagat Ghose, a regular candidate.
The exams began on March 19 and were scheduled to end on March 31. Around 5.11 lakh students, including 4.56 lakh regular candidates, are appearing for the exam at 2,362 centres across the state this year.
However, the examination for 54,462 ex-regular and 6,500 madhyama candidates would be held as per schedule, said BSE officials.
“The students need not panic as we are taking all possible steps to ensure that the examination is conducted soon. The printing of fresh question papers has begun. The evaluation of answer sheets will be held immediately after the exams and the results will be published by the last week of June,” BSE president Satyakam Mishra said.
However, students and their parents have criticised the board’s arrangements and said the delay would affect their preparations. The exams this year have already been delayed because of the panchayat polls that were conducted across the state in February.
“This will certainly affect the admission process for Plus Two. Many of us had already planned to start attending coaching classes,” said Priyanka Das, a student. Retired college teacher Bhagaban Jena said the question paper theft was an act of criminal negligence on the part of the board of secondary education. “Postponing the exam midway is bound to have adverse effects on students,” he said.
“We are losing faith in the entire mechanism. The exam postponement has dealt a blow to the preparations of thousands of meritorious students,” said Radhakanta Mahapatra, a parent.
Assembly heat
The issue was agitated in the state Assembly today with the Opposition members staging a protest in the well of the House. The Opposition members shouted slogans and disrupted proceedings demanding a discussion on the issue.
Speaker Pradip Amat was forced to adjourn the proceedings for about an hour to restore normality in the House. Later, he directed school and mass education minister Pratap Jena to place a statement tomorrow.
Addressing reporters in the capital, Jena said: “It is highly unfortunate that the students have to suffer on account of this. The director of secondary education will probe the matter and severe action will be taken against those involved in this case. The BSE is an autonomous body and the government will lend them as much help as possible in conducting the exams,” the minister said.
