The government of Odisha’s decision to cancel out Odisha Joint Entrance Examination ( OJEE 2015 has evoked a day-long strike on December 1, 2014 by the Odisha Technical College Association (OTCA) in all the technical colleges in the state.
OTCA claimed that such a move on the government’s part is illegal. It will heighten the problem of vacant seats for technical courses in the state.
The Association further informed that the Odisha government has thwarted the Policy Planning Body’s (PPB) recommendation to conduct OJEE 2015, which would have solved the problem of vacant seats in the state. It has rather decided to continue with JEE Main 2015 to be conducted by CBSE for admissions to B.Tech courses in the state.
Even last year, a large number of seats had remained vacant. The situation would become more frenzied if OJEE 2015 is not conducted this year.
Adding the fact that very few students get admitted into IITs and most of them depend on the OJEE for admissions into technical courses in the state, such a decision on the state’s part is proving to be quite expensive.
JEE Main allows only those students who have passed 10+2 this year or in the last two years to appear for the exam. However, since there is no fixed age limit for pursuing B.Tech, this becomes a cause for concern.
At the same time, the cost of appearing for JEE Main is much higher than that of OJEE. There is also no regional centre for JEE Main in the state, thus creating problems for students in clearing their queries regarding the exam and admission processes.
Another notable factor is that while private colleges allow admission for such courses with huge amount of fees, it is the students from the lower strata who will suffer the most.
