Odisha government proposes 15% reservation for govt school students in engineering, medical colleges
The government resolution stated that after the introduction of common entrance examinations, the number of students from Government schools and colleges of Odisha in these courses is getting reduced considerably.
Ahead of the upcoming panchayat polls next year, the Odisha government has brought a resolution in the state Assembly proposing 15 per cent reservation for government school students in engineering and medical colleges of the state.
The government resolution stated that after the introduction of common entrance examinations like NEET and JEE, the number of students from Government schools and colleges of Odisha in these courses is getting reduced considerably.
“This is not due to lack of merit, rather the students are unable to fare better in these tests due to lack of proper coaching facilities. Such common entrance tests require specialised training which is available only in coaching centres. Such coaching centres are mostly located in urban areas and costly,” it said. State school and mass education minister Sameer Ranjan Dash said the 15 per cent reservation formula was recommended by a high power committee headed by retired Orissa High Court judge AK Mishra.
It further stated that the students studying in the government schools and colleges lack both in physical and economic access to coaching centres. "This has resulted in inequitable conditions for a majority of the students of Odisha. In this backdrop, the Cabinet has resolved to reserve an adequate number of seats for the students of Government High Schools in medical and engineering colleges of the state."
There are about 4,200 seats in government engineering colleges and 1,500 MBBS and BDS seats in government medical colleges of the state that take students through Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) every year.
Last year, the government of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had passed similar resolutions to provide reservations to the government school students there. While Tamil Nadu gave 7.5 per cent reservation, Puducherry provided 7.5 per cent quota.
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