Bhubaneswar, Feb. 16: The ongoing panchayat elections have adversely affected a plan of the Board of Secondary Education, Odisha.

The board had on February 1 launched a book containing the best answers written by those who had topped last year’s High School Certificate examination. However, the sale of the book, which was an instant hit with students, dropped as most centres selling it remained closed with most teachers being assigned poll-related duties.

The book was planned to provide students with a quality alternative to model test papers and guides, which are in high demand during examination.

While the book, priced at Rs 60, picked up good sales in the first week, the numbers went down in the next. “Teachers from most schools had to go for training and then got engaged in poll related activities. Most schools are running short of staff and there are none to take care of the sale centres. Around 50 per cent of the centres are closed,” said Sibani Mohapatra, who looks after sale of these books.

“There are regular calls from parents and students from places such as Phulbani and Paradip complaining about non-availability of these books,” Mohapatra said.

Around 50,000 copies were printed and were sent to 31 schools in all the district headquarters of the state and Rourkela. Out of these, only 40 per cent have been sold said Mohapatra adding that the board had earlier decided to continue selling the books till the stocks are exhaust.

Over 5 lakh students are expected to appear in the annual matriculation examination that will be held from March 19 to March 31.

“The books are selling like hot cakes here in Bhubaneswar, but is saddening that students in rural areas are not able to make use of the opportunity for such unavoidable circumstances. For those who are referring the books, the response in encouraging as students are getting the idea about how to attempt the answers,” said a senior teacher of a government school in Bhubaneswar.

However, the telephonic students’ helpline 06712414721 launched to solve and answer queries of students preparing for the matriculation examination has remained a success with about 20 to 25 calls being received daily.

“Besides students, we are also receiving calls from teachers and parents on various questions, and they are all being answered 24 hours. The maximum queries are for mathematics and English,” said Harapriya Dash, the official handling the helpline.

Both the initiatives were introduced with an aim to improve the performance of students.

Last year, an overall pass percentage of 66.75 were recorded in the state, which was five per cent lower than the previous year’s result.