In view of the heatwave condition prevailing across the state, the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha, Wednesday announced a revised schedule for the conduct of the Madhyama exams and the State Open School Certificate Examination (SOSCE).

There will be no afternoon shift for these exams.

BSE president Ramashis Hazra told reporters that the SOSCE and Madhyama examinations, which were scheduled to begin from 11.30 am on May 2 and 4 respectively, will now be held in the first sitting from 8 am on May 9 and 10.

However, there are no changes in the schedule of the High School Certificate (HSC) examination, slated to begin on April 29.

The HSC examinations will be conducted from 8 am to 10 am.

A total of 5.85 lakh students will appear for the HSC examinations at 3,303 centres. More than 35,000 teachers will be supervising the examinations, Hazra said.

The Board has also set up 38 special squads and 65 flying squads to check malpractices during the examination.

School and Mass Education Minister S R Dash said that mobile phones will not be allowed inside the examination centres and CCTV surveillance systems have been installed for fair and transparent conduct of exams.

The minister said the chief secretary has asked power distribution companies to ensure uninterrupted power supply to examination centres.

Authorities concerned have been asked to make provisions for supplying drinking water in all places.

In a related development, the state government Wednesday said that all the technical educational institutions will remain closed from Thursday till May 3.

The Skill Development and Technical Education Department issued a notification in this regard and said that physical classes in all technical institutions will remain suspended because of the heat wave-like conditions.

However, examinations at the technical educational institutions will be conducted as per schedule.

Earlier, the School and Mass Education Department and Higher Education department had announced five-day closure of schools, colleges and universities.

All schools have been closed in the coastal state from April 26 to April 30, and colleges and varsities have suspended their classes from April 27 to May 2.

The government has also closed all Anganwadi Centres from April 26 to April 30, according to a decision taken by the Women and Child Development Department.

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