Two Class 10 Board Exams - A great Innitiative

In a fresh initiative, the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) will now conduct two board examinations for Class X students. The state education board has roped in 58 English-medium schools affiliated to GSHSEB, from across major cities of the state to be part of a pilot project.

Under the project, class X students of these schools will take the board exam in three subjects - English, Maths and Science - according to the syllabus of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). For the rest of the subjects, students will take the board exam as per GSHSEB syllabus. The exams will be limited to class X students of these 58 schools only.



On the other hand, class X students of the schools which are not part of the pilot project will take the board exams for all the subjects according to the GSHSEB syllabus only. Therefore, the state education board will set two question papers each for English, Science and Maths - one according to the CBSE syllabus (for students of the 58 schools) and the other set according to GSHSEB syllabus (for students of non-participating schools). 

Moreover, the paper pattern for students of the 58 schools for these three subjects will be according to the CBSE exams.

RR Thakkar, vice-chariman, GSHSEB, said they have received a good response from participating schools. "A review meeting will be held with the principals of respective schools after the Diwali vacation to discuss whether this can be implemented for class 11 and 12 (science stream) students as well," he said.

"Parents and students have shown great enthusiasm for this initiative," said Fr Fernand Durai, principal of St Xavier's Loyola. "Due to the difference in the syllabuses and the examination pattern, not just students, even teachers find the new format a little difficult. This is especially true for English as there is a vast difference between the syllabus of the two boards," said Fr Durai. St Xaviers Loyola is also participating in the pilot project.

"While the initiative is good, teachers must be trained for the new syllabus too, as they are accustomed to the current pattern," he said.

Around 20,000 students from GSHSEB-run schools will be part of this project. State board officials are also considering roping in a select few schools from the Gujarati-medium schools too. However this will be implemented after reviewing how the current project fares.

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The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) is now optional for Gujarat Students. - Controversy Again ??

The state government on Thursday issued a notification stating that admissions in engineering colleges in Gujarat will be granted on basis of Gujarat Common Entrance Test(GUjCET) scores along with class 12 scores. The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) has been made optional.

Gujarat government has now formalized the announcement made a few months back by the state's education minister. The move is aimed to favour those Gujarat board students who do not wish to compete nationally and aim to study locally.

"Admission in state engineering colleges will be granted on basis of merit prepared giving 60 percent weightage to class 12 scores and 40 percent weightage to GujCET scores," said education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.

"JEE has been made optional for students who wish to take admission on all India quota seats and universities which insist on JEE scores. Mandatory JEE entailed a waste of money, efforts and unnecessary tension for students who do not wish to go outside Gujarat for admission," Chudasama explained.

The surprise move to make JEE optional has drawn flak from many quarters for being regressive and lacking any long-term vision for enhancing quality of higher education.

In fact, Gujarat had volunteered to adopt JEE as a mandatory test for engineering admissions in 2009. It is being taken in Gujarati language. From 150-odd students taking admission in IIT and other institutions of national repute in 2009, this number has jumped by 800% to 1200-odd students in 2015.

"Once the students had started performing well in JEE, the state government reintroduces GujCET for populist gains before elections. This move is regressive," said a top expert requesting anonymity.

Rakesh Bansal, a class XII CBSE student said that the government's decision to notify GujCET six months before exams is not fair for central board students. 

"Government should be sensitive to students who are preparing for professional courses. We will now be forced to look for GujCET training at the last minute which is not fair," said Bansal.

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Govt likely to make ‘optional’ Class 10 board exam ‘mandatory’ again

The “optional” class 10 board exam is likely to become “mandatory” again.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) may set the questions for the Class 10 final exam for all its affiliated schools, reverting to a system that was in place till six years ago.

The Union human resource development minister will discuss the Class 10 board examwith the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), the highest advisory body for the Centre and state governments on education, at a meeting on Tuesday.

“We have representation from a number of states and other representatives because the board exam is still optional in CBSE schools. A broad consensus on it already exists, but a final decision will be taken in the CABE meeting,” said Mahendra Nath Pandey, junior minister in the HRD ministry.

The CBSE, which runs more than 18,000 schools, offered in 2011 a choice to students to opt for the board examination or school assessment. Approximately 13,000 private schools across the country are affiliated to the board.

Many students preferred the second option for their class 10 finals as the general perception is that schools set easier questions for better overall results.

Making the board exam optional has been a subject of debate as the class 10 final is often considered the stepping stone to higher education. Every student had to sit for the class 10 board exam before the school-based system was introduced.

A little less than 1.5 million students registered for either the boards or school-based class 10 finals in 2016, of whom 1.4 million passed, CBSE data reveal.

The HRD ministry could also take up a debate over the no-detention policy , in which students up to class 8 are not detained in the same class even if they don’t do well.

“States are concerned over the quality and a decision is likely over this, too,” minister Pandey said.

The ministry might offer each state the option to decide on the no-detention policy.

A CABE sub-committee has been deliberating on this policy. The advisory board, comprising education ministers of all states and central ministers, will discuss the issue on October 25.

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Benefits of Participating in Olympiads and Other Competitive Exams

Early Exposure to Real Feel Learning and Competition

Students gain additional knowledge, they learn the way to answer and confidence to write papers. The competition tends to make participants into very sharp-minded and ‘clever’ problem solvers. It gives a chance to students to sharpen their skills by tackling a number of problems at a level they are not likely to encounter in their classrooms.

Understanding the Concepts and their Application

The Olympiad exams not just test the student’s concept but the application of those concepts. For example, every child learn about calculating HCF and LCM but the questions a student’s face will be based on “Applications of HCF and LCM”.

Competitive Self Analysis

Through Olympiads and Competitions, students can analyse their performance at school, city, state, national and international level.

Awards and Recognition

Awards are always good for students moral after they achieve something. Prizes include cash awards, medals, gifts, certificates etc. The International toppers from each class are awarded at a grand prize distribution ceremony. Above all, the pleasure and satisfaction of representing the state/country at national or international level is the best reward for the student.

Solid Foundation for IIT JEE/AIPMT (NEET)/CA/ICWA/MBA

Participating and preparing for exams like NSTSE, NTSE, JSTSE, NSO, IMO helps in development of student’s IQ, Logical and Analytical thinking from very young age which helps in later stage when they prepare for competitive exams.

Open Doors to International Universities (With Scholarship Benefits)

Survey reveals - 98% Teacher's Unclear regarding the purpose of CCE

A recent pan-India survey revealed that 98%teachers in schools do not know the real purpose of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE). 

A recent pan-India survey revealed that 98%teachers in schools do not know the real purpose of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE). The study conducted over three years polled only teachers in 123 schools, but the numbers strongly hint that there is still a long way to go for proper implementation of CCEin CBSE and ICSE schools.

Ganesh Subramanian, director of the Chrysalis group, that conducted the survey, said, "During our survey, we had detailed questionnaires filled up by 757 teachers and 123 principals. We also had Focussed Group Discussions (FGD) with teachers from 18 different schools. Only 2% teachers mentioned that the purpose of assessment is feedback and improvement, which tells us that the CCE implementation is not heading in the right direction."

This survey was done at CBSE, ICSE and state board schools across India. However, in Maharashtra, only eight CBSE and ICSE schools from Pune and Aurangabad were part of the survey. On Friday, Chrysalis is organizing a seminar for CBSE schoolprincipals, where issues related to CCE will be discussed.

Under CCE, currently applicable only to Std IX and X, a student is evaluated on the basis of six assessments each academic year. There are two summative assessments (SA), which are the traditional pen-paper exams, and four formative assessments (FA), which comprise innovative tests like projects, viva, essay writing etc. The final report card of the student is a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) based on performance in these six assessments. SAs carry 60% weightage while FAs carry 40%.

In Std X. the SA-2 is the only exam which the CBSE conducts directly, meaning it controls only 30% of the total marks a student scores. If the student chooses to exercise the option of appearing for a school-based SA-2, then the board's role is limited to setting the question paper.

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"Write descriptive answers and don't just rely on multiple choice questions” Mulls the CBSE Board. 

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is planning a big systemic change in the months to come.

CBSE chairman Rajesh Chaturvedi said that Class 10 board examinations would be revived from 2018 as there is a growing opinion in its favour. In August, the decision to resurrect the Class 10 boards was mulled over during a meeting between HRD minister Smriti Irani and the Central Advisory Board of Education.“We will not be able to do it in 2017 as time is short but we will certainly like to go ahead with it from 2018 as it has become important in the context of improving quality. In any case, the state boards are continuing with the board exams,” he said.Chaturvedi said the matter of re-introducing the examination would be discussed at the next education ministers’ conference and with the ICSE and state boards under the direction of the ministry of human resource development (MHRD).“Students need to be made to write descriptive answers and not just rely on multiple choice questions,” he added.

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