The Naveen Patnaik government will reserve a certain percentage of seats in engineering and medical colleges of the state for students passing out of government high schools. The decision was taken at the meeting of the state cabinet on Monday.

A press release issued by the government said: “After introduction of centralised exams like NEET and JEE for medical and engineering courses, it is observed that the number of meritorious students from government high schools and colleges in Odisha, eligible for admission in these institutions, has been coming down over the years. This is not due to lack of meritorious students but a deeper divide in access to coaching classes, which is missing in rural areas. “

Admitting that competitive exams require special skill sets which are imparted mainly through the coaching centres and online coaching classes the government said, “Due to such centres 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.”

The government wishes to correct this imbalance and provide a level playing field to the students of government-run schools so that they are able to realise their dreams of becoming doctors and engineers. “The state government has decided to provide reservation to eligible government school and college students of Odisha in Medical and Engineering Colleges admissions in the state. This will be applicable from the next academic year,” the release said.

In order to implement this decision properly, the government has decided to constitute a high-powered committee under a retired high court judge. Eminent educationists of the state and eminent people from other walks of life will be included in the committee. “The committee will be asked to send its recommendations within three months. The recommendations of the committee will facilitate the implementation of the reservation policy,” said a senior government official.

Reacting to the government’s decision, BJP spokesperson Lekhashree Samantsinghar said, “The government is yet to implement the reservation policy for the socio economically weaker sections of the society. Now it is talking of reservations in medical and engineering colleges for students. It should clarify what prompted it to announce these reservations.” She said government-run schools are yet to be upgraded with quality infrastructure.

In yet another decision, the state government has decided all the public representatives from sarpanch to chief minister will submit their property lists annually.

This will be mandatory. The property lists will also be sent to the Lokayukta for reference. Similarly the property lists of government employees starting from entry level to the rank of chief secretary will also be displayed in the public domain.