**Bhubaneswar:** The High School Certificate Examination (HSCE) will be conducted as per the schedule which was announced earlier this month by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha. With Bijepur by-election date (February 24) already announced, speculations ran rife that 10th standard examinations might be rescheduled this year.
Secretary, School and Mass Education Department, Pradipta Mahapatra on Thursday clarified that no change in the matriculation examination due to the bypoll and the exams will begin from February 23 as scheduled.
As many as 5,90,330 students will appear the annual HSCE this year out of which 5,67,254 examinees will appear in the regular category and 19,737 students in the ex-regular category.
The board has decided to conduct the examinations at 2,818 exam centres.
Earlier in the day, Chief Electoral Officer, DN Gupta addressed mediapersons and claimed, the poll dates and the examinations will not clash.
“Though 13 schools will be used as booths, the by-election will not affect matriculation examination. As there is no exam on February 24 and the officials of the Commission will reach the booths at around 9 pm on February 23 and leave by 10 pm the next day, the examinations will not be affected,” Gupta clarified.
The matter has been duly discussed with the Election Commission of India and the Bargarh district administration. A report has also been sought in this regard from the collector and the district education officer, he added.
The exam for the correspondence courses for 3,334 students will be held at 46 exam centres and will be held at 101 exam centres for 13,978 students under the State Open School exams. The BSE has identified a total of 302 nodal centres for the safe storage of question papers of the annual matriculation examination.