like previous year, the Odisha High Court has directed the State Government to conduct the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) for BTech admission into various engineering colleges. The OJEE would be held in addition to the All India Joint Entrance Examination (AIJEE) to be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
Justices Indrajit Mahanti and BK Nayak issued the direction adjudicating a petition filed by the Odisha Private Engineering Colleges' Association (OPECA). Holding that the AIJEE violates the Odisha Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees Act of 2007, the court, however, allowed the State’s students to appear at the national-level examination keeping in view the interest of the students. The HC had made a similar direction last year as a large number of seats had fallen vacant in the private colleges after the AIJEE counselling.