Bhubaneswar, June 1: The state government will merge Plus Two junior colleges in the state with higher secondary schools in an attempt to provide education at par with national-level examination boards.

These schools will follow the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) model of education from this academic session.

From this year, books will be prescribed for every subject in all the streams - science, Arts, commerce and vocational courses. There will be regular classes for 220 days in each academic session.

"We are trying to set up laboratories at district headquarters high schools and those with the required infrastructure so that we can start classes XI and XII from the coming academic session. These junior colleges will now be called secondary high schools," said chairman of the Council of Higher Secondary Education Sundarlal Seal.

Plus Two junior colleges had been separated from degree colleges a year ago.

The decision to convert Plus Two colleges to schools was taken to help students fare better in competitive and national-level entrance exams and also to provide them with quality education.

Seal said there had been several challenges to separate Plus Two from degree colleges such as creating new infrastructure, distribution of teaching and non-teaching staff, creating separate budget and so on.

"A set of guidelines has been formulated by the higher education department based on which the separation of colleges will be done. Besides, a committee has also been formed to give recommendations for proper management of these separated higher secondary schools and their merger with the school system," Seal said.

There are also plans to introduce eight periods in a day, ban student union elections and introduce extra-curricular activities for students in the schools.

"A school atmosphere will be created in the former colleges for which some changes will be brought about. Colleges had 180 working days, which will be increased to 220," said Seal.

The government has decided to recruit trained graduate teachers for these schools at the earliest. There is vacancy of over 700 teachers in government Plus Two colleges. Sources said 51 government and 277 private colleges still run as composite colleges with both junior and degree courses.