The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations is contemplating a proposal to make it compulsory for ISC students to attain pass grades in five subjects instead of four so that engineering aspirants are not disadvantaged by the new percentile system for admission.
“As of now, there is no change and students sitting for ISC 2013 need to pass only in English and three other subjects. But we are examining whether there is a need to change the existing system and make it compulsory to pass in English and four other subjects in the coming years,” Gerry Arathoon, chief executive of the council, told Metro.
Students in ISC schools can study up to six subjects but currently need to attain pass grades in only four, including English. This used to be an advantage over the CBSE system, which requires examinees to pass in five subjects, but the newly introduced percentile method of drawing up merit lists for engineering admission has triggered calls for a change.
The method, introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education that also conducts the highly competitive JEE, makes plus-two grades as important as an engineering aspirant’s performance in the entrance test.
Beginning this year, the all-India entrance test will comprise JEE-Main and JEE-Advanced. Admission to the IITs will be based on category-wise all-India ranks in JEE-Advanced, subject to the candidates being in the top 20 percentile in their respective Class XII board examinations.
The top 20 percentile will be calculated on the basis of scores in five subjects, including physics and maths. In simple terms, an individual’s percentile is calculated by dividing the number of examinees who have scored less than him or her by the total number of students who took the test. The result is then multiplied by 100.
Say Student X appears for an exam with 1,000 candidates and ranks 10th, that would mean there are 990 others below him or her. The percentile will be calculated by the formula 990/1000*100, which equals 99. Therefore, Student X is in the 99th percentile.
Many ISC students don’t even write their fifth paper, focusing on doing well in the mandatory four subjects. Teachers fear this could rob even deserving students of engineering seats from this year onwards.
Although its rules remain the same, the ISC council has asked its affiliated institutions to apprise their students of the CBSE’s percentile system for engineering entrance. “We have instructed the heads of all ISC schools across the country to caution the students about the implications of not studying and doing well in a minimum of five subjects,” council head Arathoon said.
In Gujarat, a section of ISC students who will sit for the 2013 JEE-Main and Advanced tests learnt just a couple of months before their board examinations that they need to write at least five papers to stand a chance of qualifying.
The majority of private English-medium schools in Calcutta are affiliated to the CISCE, whose syllabi and system of evaluation is acknowledged as being comprehensive yet student-friendly.
“Now that there is a percentile method to contend with for JEE, maybe it’s time for a rethink,” a Calcutta principal suggested.
So how soon might the council ring in the change? “We will amend the rule only after thoroughly examining the proposal. The engineering entrance test is taken only by a section of science students and we don’t want to burden those studying arts and commerce,” a council official said.
Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130426/jsp/calcutta/story_16829464.jsp
“As of now, there is no change and students sitting for ISC 2013 need to pass only in English and three other subjects. But we are examining whether there is a need to change the existing system and make it compulsory to pass in English and four other subjects in the coming years,” Gerry Arathoon, chief executive of the council, told Metro.
Students in ISC schools can study up to six subjects but currently need to attain pass grades in only four, including English. This used to be an advantage over the CBSE system, which requires examinees to pass in five subjects, but the newly introduced percentile method of drawing up merit lists for engineering admission has triggered calls for a change.
The method, introduced by the Central Board of Secondary Education that also conducts the highly competitive JEE, makes plus-two grades as important as an engineering aspirant’s performance in the entrance test.
Beginning this year, the all-India entrance test will comprise JEE-Main and JEE-Advanced. Admission to the IITs will be based on category-wise all-India ranks in JEE-Advanced, subject to the candidates being in the top 20 percentile in their respective Class XII board examinations.
The top 20 percentile will be calculated on the basis of scores in five subjects, including physics and maths. In simple terms, an individual’s percentile is calculated by dividing the number of examinees who have scored less than him or her by the total number of students who took the test. The result is then multiplied by 100.
Say Student X appears for an exam with 1,000 candidates and ranks 10th, that would mean there are 990 others below him or her. The percentile will be calculated by the formula 990/1000*100, which equals 99. Therefore, Student X is in the 99th percentile.
Many ISC students don’t even write their fifth paper, focusing on doing well in the mandatory four subjects. Teachers fear this could rob even deserving students of engineering seats from this year onwards.
Although its rules remain the same, the ISC council has asked its affiliated institutions to apprise their students of the CBSE’s percentile system for engineering entrance. “We have instructed the heads of all ISC schools across the country to caution the students about the implications of not studying and doing well in a minimum of five subjects,” council head Arathoon said.
In Gujarat, a section of ISC students who will sit for the 2013 JEE-Main and Advanced tests learnt just a couple of months before their board examinations that they need to write at least five papers to stand a chance of qualifying.
The majority of private English-medium schools in Calcutta are affiliated to the CISCE, whose syllabi and system of evaluation is acknowledged as being comprehensive yet student-friendly.
“Now that there is a percentile method to contend with for JEE, maybe it’s time for a rethink,” a Calcutta principal suggested.
So how soon might the council ring in the change? “We will amend the rule only after thoroughly examining the proposal. The engineering entrance test is taken only by a section of science students and we don’t want to burden those studying arts and commerce,” a council official said.
Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130426/jsp/calcutta/story_16829464.jsp
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