Bhubaneswar, May 11: Poor performance of Odia students in the civil services examination, the result of which was announced yesterday, has raised questions about the quality and preparedness of candidates from the state.

Students from the state have consistently under-performed in the national-level entrance examinations for technical, managerial or medical studies. The civil services qualifying list published yesterday has 10-odd students from the state, but not one in the top 25.

Around 8,000 candidates from the state wrote the civil services examinations, but only two figured in the top 200. The two are Divyajyoti Parida ranked 26th, while Sagarika Nath has come 199th.

Experts have blamed the poor showing on the lack of quality education and drive among candidates.

"Somehow I find the drive missing among the Odia aspirants and their parents. Despite the dawn of technology, this generation somehow seems to be disinterested in the civil services exams. These exams do not even appear to be a topic of discussion in the average Odia family like it used to be 50 years ago when the parents motivated students," said former diplomat Abasara Beuria.

He also put the blame on the quality of teaching. However, this hasn't stopped the mushrooming of private coaching institutes for civil service aspirants. About a dozen of these centres have come up in Bhubaneswar alone. Significantly, despite assurances by the state government, it is yet to open a coaching centre. Utkal University had opened one briefly by hiring experts from a private agency, but it shut shop following poor response.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Linu Chayani, director of one of the oldest private coaching institutes for competitive exams in the state, said the main reason behind the poor performance of Odia candidates was beginning preparations late.

"While candidates in other states start preparing for these exams from Class XII itself, our students start considering it as an option only after graduation or post-graduation," said Chayani.

Experts running the coaching centres also revealed that most of the candidates were not consistent in their preparation, besides lacking confidence and good communication skills. About 70 per cent of the students who appear for these exams are from Odia medium schools and are not as good in communicating as their English medium counterparts. Students who can afford better coaching move to places such as Delhi.

"Many students do not stick to their goals. If they fail in two attempts, they either quit and take up some professional course or attempt banking or other competitive exams. This could be due to the urgency of landing a job. This makes them lose focus," said Jatin Mohanty, who teaches at one of the city's coaching centres.

Smita Hota, a probationary officer with a bank, failed to make the civil services grade after three attempts. She gave up and opted for a banking job. "My friends were already married with kids. There was tremendous pressure on me from my family. Unable to wait any further, I opted for a banking job. Now, it's almost impossible to shift focus back to civil services exams," said Smita.

However, there are some honourable exceptions such as Indrajit Panda of Sanatra village in Mayurbhanj district, who cracked the civil services exams this time. The son of a truck driver, he currently works as an electronics fitter with the Indian Air Force and holds the rank of a corporal in Pune.

Panda tasted success in his third attempt without any formal coaching. His optional paper in the Mains was Odia literature. Ranked 1075th in the list of successful candidates, he is keen to improve his position. "I may give another shot at it," said Panda, who hopes to improve his rank.