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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