Students of the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) on Monday gheraoed the residence of Skill Development and Technical Education Minister Premananda Nayak here demanding conduct of their final semester examination in offline mode.
The students alleged that several students could not appear in the online final semester exam conducted in August, for which the department had announced to hold offline exam as an alternative. However, no such exam has been conducted till date, as a result of which the students are not able to take admission for further studies even after securing good ranks in the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE).
The students also pressed for postponement of the date for OJEE counselling.
Later, the Minister held a discussion with the students and assured them that a decision regarding the date for the offline final semester exam and OJEE counselling would be taken within a week.
“Efforts are on to ensure that no student is deprived of higher education and employment,” the Minister added.