Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 5, 2007
Confusion is the word dominating the admission process of all colleges under Calcutta University (CU). CU has issued an order on June 4, directing all colleges not to include environment studies as one of the ‘best of five’ subjects while calculating the aggregate of students seeking admission in under graduate courses. However, many colleges like Presidency, St. Xavier’s, Loreto, Lady Brabourne and Scottish Church has already issued forms before this directive.
The university in its last circular, dated March 29 had asked colleges to admit students by calculating aggregate of best of five subjects. “Since the circular did not mention that environmental studies cannot be included as one of the subjects while calculating best of five we have already accepted forms where students have calculated their aggregate by including this subject. The Higher Secondary Council mark sheet awarded both grade and marks for environmental science,” said Mamata Ray, principal of Presidency College.
Scottish Church College too is facing hurdles over environmental studies. “We already have built a software which allows environmental studies as one of the best of five subjects. Many students have already submitted the forms online and at least for this year, it will be difficult for us to bring a change now,” said J Abharam, principal of the college.
However, according to Shyamal Sarkar, secretary of CU’s under graduate council all colleges will have to follow the circular. “If any college had included the marks of environmental studies in the aggregate, they will have to rectify it. It is not a big problem, since the colleges have not admitted any students yet,” said Sarkar.
The registrar of CU, Samir Bandhyopadhyay, however suggested that the university would take a final decision on Wednesday. “I feel justice will not be done if a section of students are allowed to include environmental studies marks in the aggregate. The final decision will be taken by the Vice Chancellor,” he said.
While most of the colleges started giving the forms online from June 1, St. Xavier’s’ and Loreto has been issuing forms for the last three weeks. St Xavier’s admissions start from Wednesday. “The university should have issued the circular earlier, now it is too late. This is creating confusion among students,” said Father P. C. Mathew, Principal of the College.
While CBSE did not have environmental studies as one of the subjects, students ISC and HS have scored highly in it. “All my students have scored above 70 in environmental studies. This is helping them to boost their aggregate. CU and Higher Education Council should have given this directive much earlier,” said Rupak Homeroy, principal of Ballygaunge Government High School. Agrees Father Mathew of St. Xavier’s’ College, “In any case this year the Higher Secondary Board students have not been able to get high marks but have scored very well in Environmental Studies, it is helping them to boost their aggregate.”
mou.hindustantimes@gmail.com
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Not the end of the road
Mou Chakraborty / Rashmi Sharma
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
After declaration of Madhyamik, Higher Secondary and other board exam results, those who have not performed up to their expectations are feeling miserable. Have no fear — there are many famous and successful people — who have done the same.
The worn-out cliché, “failure is the stepping stone to success” still holds true. Exams are not the only thing in life. For many, bad results in their board exams have spurred them onto greater things in life. The moral: Do not break down. Instead, start looking at life from a newer perspective.
Dipanjan Banerjee, general manager (programming) with an upcoming FM radio station failed in his HS exams. While he took up science under parental and peer pressure, Dipanjan did not lose sight of his dreams, being independent in his thoughts. “I always chased dreams and never thought studying physics and maths would be instrumental in realising my dreams. However, after failing in maths, I realised the need to focus on academics and for one year I studied hard. I am not ashamed of failing, instead I feel proud that I passed with good marks the next year.”
He however, cautioned against people who are likely to take a dim view of underachievers. Although the negative undercurrents he felt from some relatives, peers and neighbours continue to hurt, even after 15 years, those who fail must not give in to criticism or peer pressure, he suggested. “Such comments stopped mattering as I went up the social and corporate ladder.”
One of the youngest ministers in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s government, Abdus Sattar, was never a topper in school. But he believed in consistency and was focused in life. Not only did he finish his PhD and become a professor, but also went on to become the youngest president of West Bengal Board of Madrasa Education followed by the minister of minority development and welfare. “The first boy in my class is yet to get a job and the second boy is not doing so well in life. So if your board results are bad, keep in mind that you still have time to develop yourself. And the only way to do it is by becoming optimistic,” Sattar said.
Famous painter Suvaprasanna scored 45 per cent in his Class XII exam, but he knew what he wanted from life. “My parents wanted me to become a doctor and when I took admission in Art College, they threw me out.” Today Suvaprasanna is happy that he pursued what he loved. “I have seen toppers who end up doing nothing great in life. If you have dreams and determination, nothing can stop you,” the artist said.
Anindya Chatterjee, lead vocalist and lyricist of Bangla band Chandrobindoo, recollects: “I did badly in Madhyamik examination and seeing my friends passing out with flying colours gave me a major complex. It was not the end but the beginning of my success in life. I motivated myself to cultivate my love for music and turned it into a full-fledged career.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
rashmisharma2006@gmail.com
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
After declaration of Madhyamik, Higher Secondary and other board exam results, those who have not performed up to their expectations are feeling miserable. Have no fear — there are many famous and successful people — who have done the same.
The worn-out cliché, “failure is the stepping stone to success” still holds true. Exams are not the only thing in life. For many, bad results in their board exams have spurred them onto greater things in life. The moral: Do not break down. Instead, start looking at life from a newer perspective.
Dipanjan Banerjee, general manager (programming) with an upcoming FM radio station failed in his HS exams. While he took up science under parental and peer pressure, Dipanjan did not lose sight of his dreams, being independent in his thoughts. “I always chased dreams and never thought studying physics and maths would be instrumental in realising my dreams. However, after failing in maths, I realised the need to focus on academics and for one year I studied hard. I am not ashamed of failing, instead I feel proud that I passed with good marks the next year.”
He however, cautioned against people who are likely to take a dim view of underachievers. Although the negative undercurrents he felt from some relatives, peers and neighbours continue to hurt, even after 15 years, those who fail must not give in to criticism or peer pressure, he suggested. “Such comments stopped mattering as I went up the social and corporate ladder.”
One of the youngest ministers in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s government, Abdus Sattar, was never a topper in school. But he believed in consistency and was focused in life. Not only did he finish his PhD and become a professor, but also went on to become the youngest president of West Bengal Board of Madrasa Education followed by the minister of minority development and welfare. “The first boy in my class is yet to get a job and the second boy is not doing so well in life. So if your board results are bad, keep in mind that you still have time to develop yourself. And the only way to do it is by becoming optimistic,” Sattar said.
Famous painter Suvaprasanna scored 45 per cent in his Class XII exam, but he knew what he wanted from life. “My parents wanted me to become a doctor and when I took admission in Art College, they threw me out.” Today Suvaprasanna is happy that he pursued what he loved. “I have seen toppers who end up doing nothing great in life. If you have dreams and determination, nothing can stop you,” the artist said.
Anindya Chatterjee, lead vocalist and lyricist of Bangla band Chandrobindoo, recollects: “I did badly in Madhyamik examination and seeing my friends passing out with flying colours gave me a major complex. It was not the end but the beginning of my success in life. I motivated myself to cultivate my love for music and turned it into a full-fledged career.”
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
rashmisharma2006@gmail.com
Design prospects ripe in state
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
Starting from this new academic session, the state will have its own design school. The International School of Design (ISD) will come up in Santiniketan and will be spread over a 10-acre campus.
The institute already has a tie-up with Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland and both institutions will jointly award the degree. Initially, a 4-year degree course — Bachelor of Design in Future Design — will be offered to interested students.
“Apart from National Institute of Design (NID), India does not have any good design schools. This school is aimed at not only producing world-class designers, but also providing them with necessary international exposure to make them globally competitive,” said S Bose, promoter of ISD.
In the first year, students will be introduced to concepts of design, designing forms and various aspects of fine arts. They will also be introduced to digital media. In the second and third year, various aspects of designing including, topics such as manufacturing design, design modelling, design & business, design research methods, contemporary architecture and legal issues will be taught.
In their final year, students will have to specialise on some aspect of designing. This may include, product design, furniture & interior design, automobile design, ceramic & glass design, textile design, apparel design & merchandising, lifestyle accessory design, animation film design, graphic design, animation, film design and designing in media.
“The students will have to do a lot of work on computers, as this is a very tech-driven course. They will be sent to Napier University for their specialisation, however if they want they can stay in India and do their specialisation,” said Bose.
While faculty is mainly being hired from NID and Visva Bharati, there will be many practitioners of the industry in the list of visiting faculty. And placements promise to be lucrative. “Everyone from textile companies, mobile phone companies and the automobile industry are looking for new designs. They can also become an interior designer or work freelance. A beginner can hope to earn about Rs. 25,000 per month,” he said.
Class XII pass-outs are eligible and will have to sit for an admission test. They will also have to submit a portfolio. There are 40 seats and course fee will be Rs 80,000 per year, which is Rs 20,000 more than NID. If a student chooses to go to Edinburgh for specialisation, it will cost them an additional ₤6,000.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
Starting from this new academic session, the state will have its own design school. The International School of Design (ISD) will come up in Santiniketan and will be spread over a 10-acre campus.
The institute already has a tie-up with Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland and both institutions will jointly award the degree. Initially, a 4-year degree course — Bachelor of Design in Future Design — will be offered to interested students.
“Apart from National Institute of Design (NID), India does not have any good design schools. This school is aimed at not only producing world-class designers, but also providing them with necessary international exposure to make them globally competitive,” said S Bose, promoter of ISD.
In the first year, students will be introduced to concepts of design, designing forms and various aspects of fine arts. They will also be introduced to digital media. In the second and third year, various aspects of designing including, topics such as manufacturing design, design modelling, design & business, design research methods, contemporary architecture and legal issues will be taught.
In their final year, students will have to specialise on some aspect of designing. This may include, product design, furniture & interior design, automobile design, ceramic & glass design, textile design, apparel design & merchandising, lifestyle accessory design, animation film design, graphic design, animation, film design and designing in media.
“The students will have to do a lot of work on computers, as this is a very tech-driven course. They will be sent to Napier University for their specialisation, however if they want they can stay in India and do their specialisation,” said Bose.
While faculty is mainly being hired from NID and Visva Bharati, there will be many practitioners of the industry in the list of visiting faculty. And placements promise to be lucrative. “Everyone from textile companies, mobile phone companies and the automobile industry are looking for new designs. They can also become an interior designer or work freelance. A beginner can hope to earn about Rs. 25,000 per month,” he said.
Class XII pass-outs are eligible and will have to sit for an admission test. They will also have to submit a portfolio. There are 40 seats and course fee will be Rs 80,000 per year, which is Rs 20,000 more than NID. If a student chooses to go to Edinburgh for specialisation, it will cost them an additional ₤6,000.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Design prospects ripe in state
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
Starting from this new academic session, the state will have its own design school. The International School of Design (ISD) will come up in Santiniketan and will be spread over a 10-acre campus.
The institute already has a tie-up with Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland and both institutions will jointly award the degree. Initially, a 4-year degree course — Bachelor of Design in Future Design — will be offered to interested students.
“Apart from National Institute of Design (NID), India does not have any good design schools. This school is aimed at not only producing world-class designers, but also providing them with necessary international exposure to make them globally competitive,” said S Bose, promoter of ISD.
In the first year, students will be introduced to concepts of design, designing forms and various aspects of fine arts. They will also be introduced to digital media. In the second and third year, various aspects of designing including, topics such as manufacturing design, design modelling, design & business, design research methods, contemporary architecture and legal issues will be taught.
In their final year, students will have to specialise on some aspect of designing. This may include, product design, furniture & interior design, automobile design, ceramic & glass design, textile design, apparel design & merchandising, lifestyle accessory design, animation film design, graphic design, animation, film design and designing in media.
“The students will have to do a lot of work on computers, as this is a very tech-driven course. They will be sent to Napier University for their specialisation, however if they want they can stay in India and do their specialisation,” said Bose.
While faculty is mainly being hired from NID and Visva Bharati, there will be many practitioners of the industry in the list of visiting faculty. And placements promise to be lucrative. “Everyone from textile companies, mobile phone companies and the automobile industry are looking for new designs. They can also become an interior designer or work freelance. A beginner can hope to earn about Rs. 25,000 per month,” he said.
Class XII pass-outs are eligible and will have to sit for an admission test. They will also have to submit a portfolio. There are 40 seats and course fee will be Rs 80,000 per year, which is Rs 20,000 more than NID. If a student chooses to go to Edinburgh for specialisation, it will cost them an additional ₤6,000.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 3, 2007
Starting from this new academic session, the state will have its own design school. The International School of Design (ISD) will come up in Santiniketan and will be spread over a 10-acre campus.
The institute already has a tie-up with Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland and both institutions will jointly award the degree. Initially, a 4-year degree course — Bachelor of Design in Future Design — will be offered to interested students.
“Apart from National Institute of Design (NID), India does not have any good design schools. This school is aimed at not only producing world-class designers, but also providing them with necessary international exposure to make them globally competitive,” said S Bose, promoter of ISD.
In the first year, students will be introduced to concepts of design, designing forms and various aspects of fine arts. They will also be introduced to digital media. In the second and third year, various aspects of designing including, topics such as manufacturing design, design modelling, design & business, design research methods, contemporary architecture and legal issues will be taught.
In their final year, students will have to specialise on some aspect of designing. This may include, product design, furniture & interior design, automobile design, ceramic & glass design, textile design, apparel design & merchandising, lifestyle accessory design, animation film design, graphic design, animation, film design and designing in media.
“The students will have to do a lot of work on computers, as this is a very tech-driven course. They will be sent to Napier University for their specialisation, however if they want they can stay in India and do their specialisation,” said Bose.
While faculty is mainly being hired from NID and Visva Bharati, there will be many practitioners of the industry in the list of visiting faculty. And placements promise to be lucrative. “Everyone from textile companies, mobile phone companies and the automobile industry are looking for new designs. They can also become an interior designer or work freelance. A beginner can hope to earn about Rs. 25,000 per month,” he said.
Class XII pass-outs are eligible and will have to sit for an admission test. They will also have to submit a portfolio. There are 40 seats and course fee will be Rs 80,000 per year, which is Rs 20,000 more than NID. If a student chooses to go to Edinburgh for specialisation, it will cost them an additional ₤6,000.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Govt school students rise and shine
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 2, 2007
Despite inherent disadvantages like poor infrastructure, students from government schools have performed better in Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations.
There are 44 government schools in the state, out of which 18 institutions have produced on an average forty students with star marks in Madhyamik. Among them Hindu School topped the list with 80 students and Barasta PCS stood second with 70. In Higher Secondary where students of private and government sponsored schools struggled to get 80 per cent on an average, government schools had at least 10 students scoring above 80 per cent.
“Our biggest handicap is that unlike the private schools, we cannot take an admission test but have to take students through lottery. Which means we get both meritorious as well as below average students. The reason for good results is that our teachers are able to churn out merit from students of all categories,” said Dipak Das, general secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers Association.
Abhro Ghosh, who scored 447 from Hooghly Collegiate School and is one of the toppers in HS, agrees. “My result would not have been possible without my teachers. My school and teachers always guided me and they are responsible for what I am today.”
“The environment of our schools is such that most of the students study diligently. The teachers give personal attention to students and even take extra classes in other government schools, something which cannot be seen everywhere,” said Shyamnarayan Bandhyopadhyay, principal of Hindu School.
Many government schools have teaching posts vacant. The condition is such that teachers from one school have often taken classes in another institution. “We have 120 teachers post lying vacant. However, 40 new teaching posts have been created. We hope the state will try and solve our problems,” said Das.
The government schools have to recruit teachers through Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC had advertised for recruitment in January, but they have not announced any exam date. Only after the exam, the PSC will put up a list of selected candidates and an interview will finally select the teachers. “The system is cumbrous and by the time PSC selects a candidate, he has already joined a government sponsored school through School Service Commission exam,” said Das.
However, many government school students with star marks may not get admission in their own institutions. “Government rules prevents us form admitting all our successful students to Class XI. Instead we have to split in 50-50 ratios and take students from outside,” said Das.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 2, 2007
Despite inherent disadvantages like poor infrastructure, students from government schools have performed better in Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations.
There are 44 government schools in the state, out of which 18 institutions have produced on an average forty students with star marks in Madhyamik. Among them Hindu School topped the list with 80 students and Barasta PCS stood second with 70. In Higher Secondary where students of private and government sponsored schools struggled to get 80 per cent on an average, government schools had at least 10 students scoring above 80 per cent.
“Our biggest handicap is that unlike the private schools, we cannot take an admission test but have to take students through lottery. Which means we get both meritorious as well as below average students. The reason for good results is that our teachers are able to churn out merit from students of all categories,” said Dipak Das, general secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers Association.
Abhro Ghosh, who scored 447 from Hooghly Collegiate School and is one of the toppers in HS, agrees. “My result would not have been possible without my teachers. My school and teachers always guided me and they are responsible for what I am today.”
“The environment of our schools is such that most of the students study diligently. The teachers give personal attention to students and even take extra classes in other government schools, something which cannot be seen everywhere,” said Shyamnarayan Bandhyopadhyay, principal of Hindu School.
Many government schools have teaching posts vacant. The condition is such that teachers from one school have often taken classes in another institution. “We have 120 teachers post lying vacant. However, 40 new teaching posts have been created. We hope the state will try and solve our problems,” said Das.
The government schools have to recruit teachers through Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC had advertised for recruitment in January, but they have not announced any exam date. Only after the exam, the PSC will put up a list of selected candidates and an interview will finally select the teachers. “The system is cumbrous and by the time PSC selects a candidate, he has already joined a government sponsored school through School Service Commission exam,” said Das.
However, many government school students with star marks may not get admission in their own institutions. “Government rules prevents us form admitting all our successful students to Class XI. Instead we have to split in 50-50 ratios and take students from outside,” said Das.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Friday, June 1, 2007
HS pass outs will have to fight it out for college entry
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 1, 2007
The Higher Secondary results are out and there aren’t too many smiling faces. Not that the pass percentage has gone down --- in fact it is up by a modest 2 per cent --- but marks weren’t as free flowing as students who sat for the ISC and CBSE Class XII exams. And that’s a big worry as admission to a college will become tougher.
While revising the syllabus and changing the marking system for this year’s exams, the HS Council had loudly proclaimed that the changes would remove the huge disparity in marks that existed between Higher Secondary students and those sitting for Delhi board exams. The purpose was clearly to give all students seeking admissions to colleges a level playing field. But that clearly hasn’t happened.
An analysis of the results show that HS pass-outs fared poorly when compared to those who have passed the ISC and CBSE Class XII examinations. Take, for instance, this simple statistics --- the HS topper from Bengal, Shornojit Chatterjee from Ramkanai Institution in Bankura, got 91.8 per cent while the ISC topper from the state secured a whopping 98.75 per cent and the CBSE first in Bengal got 96.2 per cent. What’s more, out of the 2.2 lakh-odd who passed this year’s HS exams, only four got past the 90 per cent mark. In both ISC and CBSE, this figure is at least 100 times more.
The problem is that with most colleges in the city and the adjoining districts doing away with admission tests and taking the marksheet as the sole criterion for admissions, the HS students are clearly at a disadvantage. The Calcutta University, for example --- it offers over one lakh seats in 162 colleges under it --- has asked all institutions not to give preferential treatment to any particular board. Loreto College, for instance, has already filled up most of its seats with ISC and CBSE candidates and only a handful seats are left for the HS pass-outs. Even the prestigious Presidency College will be holding admission test in only a handful of subjects. “If we find more high-scoring students from ISC and CBSE we will have to admit them. We can’t help but follow the instruction given to us by the university,” said J. Abraham, principal of Scottish Church College.
In fact, the post-mortem of the results has already begum in the city’s academic corridors to find out why marks weren’t flowing. One reason could be the lack of orientation programme for teachers regarding the changed environment, said All Bengal Teachers Associations (ABTA) general-secretary Shibaparsad Mukhopadhyay. “The syllabus has changed drastically, the marking system has changed, but most teachers, including those who checked answer scripts, were not properly trained,” he told HT.
Result: Students had problem understanding the new exam pattern. “For example, many failed to realise that exceeding world limit would cost them marks,” Abhijan Bandhyopadhyay, a teacher of Patha Bhavan High School, said. “The Delhi boards follow the policy of giving full marks to students if the answer is to the point which the HS Council is yet to follow. Moreover, there are many objective type questions, projects and practicals which help the students to increase their score. All of them make a very big difference,” said Malini Bhagat, principal of Mahadevi Birla High School.
(mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com)
Kolkata, June 1, 2007
The Higher Secondary results are out and there aren’t too many smiling faces. Not that the pass percentage has gone down --- in fact it is up by a modest 2 per cent --- but marks weren’t as free flowing as students who sat for the ISC and CBSE Class XII exams. And that’s a big worry as admission to a college will become tougher.
While revising the syllabus and changing the marking system for this year’s exams, the HS Council had loudly proclaimed that the changes would remove the huge disparity in marks that existed between Higher Secondary students and those sitting for Delhi board exams. The purpose was clearly to give all students seeking admissions to colleges a level playing field. But that clearly hasn’t happened.
An analysis of the results show that HS pass-outs fared poorly when compared to those who have passed the ISC and CBSE Class XII examinations. Take, for instance, this simple statistics --- the HS topper from Bengal, Shornojit Chatterjee from Ramkanai Institution in Bankura, got 91.8 per cent while the ISC topper from the state secured a whopping 98.75 per cent and the CBSE first in Bengal got 96.2 per cent. What’s more, out of the 2.2 lakh-odd who passed this year’s HS exams, only four got past the 90 per cent mark. In both ISC and CBSE, this figure is at least 100 times more.
The problem is that with most colleges in the city and the adjoining districts doing away with admission tests and taking the marksheet as the sole criterion for admissions, the HS students are clearly at a disadvantage. The Calcutta University, for example --- it offers over one lakh seats in 162 colleges under it --- has asked all institutions not to give preferential treatment to any particular board. Loreto College, for instance, has already filled up most of its seats with ISC and CBSE candidates and only a handful seats are left for the HS pass-outs. Even the prestigious Presidency College will be holding admission test in only a handful of subjects. “If we find more high-scoring students from ISC and CBSE we will have to admit them. We can’t help but follow the instruction given to us by the university,” said J. Abraham, principal of Scottish Church College.
In fact, the post-mortem of the results has already begum in the city’s academic corridors to find out why marks weren’t flowing. One reason could be the lack of orientation programme for teachers regarding the changed environment, said All Bengal Teachers Associations (ABTA) general-secretary Shibaparsad Mukhopadhyay. “The syllabus has changed drastically, the marking system has changed, but most teachers, including those who checked answer scripts, were not properly trained,” he told HT.
Result: Students had problem understanding the new exam pattern. “For example, many failed to realise that exceeding world limit would cost them marks,” Abhijan Bandhyopadhyay, a teacher of Patha Bhavan High School, said. “The Delhi boards follow the policy of giving full marks to students if the answer is to the point which the HS Council is yet to follow. Moreover, there are many objective type questions, projects and practicals which help the students to increase their score. All of them make a very big difference,” said Malini Bhagat, principal of Mahadevi Birla High School.
(mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com)
Districts outstrip city schools in HS merit list
Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, June 1, 2007
In a total reversal of trend, district schools have outstripped city schools in the Higher Secondary exam merit list. It has shattered the popular belief that the best students flock to the city-based schools.
As many as 12 out of the 18 probable toppers in the HS exams this year are either from the districts or suburbs. Since, last results came in, only one student from Kolkata — Tomoghno Biswas from Nava Nalanda High School — has scored above 90 per cent.
The school education minister Partha De, however, refused to put too much emphasis on the disparity in results. “It will not be right to say that the students from the districts have done better than those from Kolkata or vice versa. The average result is very good and this is just the beginning. I am very happy with the result. It is true that the pass percentage has not increased in the districts, but with time it will go up,” said De.
One of the main reason for the city losing out is that many students like M Saraswati, the probable topper in the arts section of CBSE in Class XII exams this year, leave the state board after Madhyamik and migrate to other more scoring boards. “I realised that in the Bengal board I could not score much and I shifted to CBSE and have been able to score 93 per cent even in arts,” she said.
Dipak Das, general secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers Association too aired the same view. “Many top scorers in the city go to ISC and CBSE board schools because that is more scoring. Moreover, the socio-economic condition of villages has now changed. The parents and the students now know the importance of education,” he said.
Teachers from the city however are not too happy with the results. “Though the syllabus and question pattern has changed, not many students from my school have scored as expected. This was the first year for the new pattern and we hope from next year it will be different,” said Shyam Narayan Bandhyopadhyay, principal of Hindu School.
There is a silver lining for city schools though. Despite, more students from the districts making it to the merit lists, Kolkata has registered the highest pass percentage (86.85%). “Since this is the first year for the new pattern, we need at least 3 years to understand the pattern,” said Shiboparsad Mukhopadhyay, general secretary of All Bengal Teachers Association.
However, talking about the reason behind fewer students doing very well, Mukhopadhyay, said, “There were questions from every unit in the new question pattern. So the students who do selective studies were caught on the wrong foot.”
The new pattern of examination has seen an increase of 1.95 per cent in the pass percentage, compared to an almost 5 per cent rise in the last two years. While, there has been 5.78 per cent drop in students scoring between 30 and 44 in individual subjects compared to last year, there has also been a 7 per cent increase in the number of students scoring between 60 and 79 in individual subjects compared to 2006.
“The fact that the new system is working is proved by the fact that many mediocre students have become better. The most important gain is the over 1 per cent rise in students scoring above 80 per cent this year,” said Debashish Sharkar, secretary of West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education.
Also, girls have done better than boys with the pass percentage of girls increasing by 4.86 per cent. In the case of boys, the figure stands at 0.16 per cent. But the new mark sheet has created confusion among teachers, who were trying to make the grand total. “The council should have given some directions on how to calculate the grand total. It has only increased our workload,” said Harekrishan Bhattacharya, principal of Hare School.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
Kolkata, June 1, 2007
In a total reversal of trend, district schools have outstripped city schools in the Higher Secondary exam merit list. It has shattered the popular belief that the best students flock to the city-based schools.
As many as 12 out of the 18 probable toppers in the HS exams this year are either from the districts or suburbs. Since, last results came in, only one student from Kolkata — Tomoghno Biswas from Nava Nalanda High School — has scored above 90 per cent.
The school education minister Partha De, however, refused to put too much emphasis on the disparity in results. “It will not be right to say that the students from the districts have done better than those from Kolkata or vice versa. The average result is very good and this is just the beginning. I am very happy with the result. It is true that the pass percentage has not increased in the districts, but with time it will go up,” said De.
One of the main reason for the city losing out is that many students like M Saraswati, the probable topper in the arts section of CBSE in Class XII exams this year, leave the state board after Madhyamik and migrate to other more scoring boards. “I realised that in the Bengal board I could not score much and I shifted to CBSE and have been able to score 93 per cent even in arts,” she said.
Dipak Das, general secretary of West Bengal Government School Teachers Association too aired the same view. “Many top scorers in the city go to ISC and CBSE board schools because that is more scoring. Moreover, the socio-economic condition of villages has now changed. The parents and the students now know the importance of education,” he said.
Teachers from the city however are not too happy with the results. “Though the syllabus and question pattern has changed, not many students from my school have scored as expected. This was the first year for the new pattern and we hope from next year it will be different,” said Shyam Narayan Bandhyopadhyay, principal of Hindu School.
There is a silver lining for city schools though. Despite, more students from the districts making it to the merit lists, Kolkata has registered the highest pass percentage (86.85%). “Since this is the first year for the new pattern, we need at least 3 years to understand the pattern,” said Shiboparsad Mukhopadhyay, general secretary of All Bengal Teachers Association.
However, talking about the reason behind fewer students doing very well, Mukhopadhyay, said, “There were questions from every unit in the new question pattern. So the students who do selective studies were caught on the wrong foot.”
The new pattern of examination has seen an increase of 1.95 per cent in the pass percentage, compared to an almost 5 per cent rise in the last two years. While, there has been 5.78 per cent drop in students scoring between 30 and 44 in individual subjects compared to last year, there has also been a 7 per cent increase in the number of students scoring between 60 and 79 in individual subjects compared to 2006.
“The fact that the new system is working is proved by the fact that many mediocre students have become better. The most important gain is the over 1 per cent rise in students scoring above 80 per cent this year,” said Debashish Sharkar, secretary of West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education.
Also, girls have done better than boys with the pass percentage of girls increasing by 4.86 per cent. In the case of boys, the figure stands at 0.16 per cent. But the new mark sheet has created confusion among teachers, who were trying to make the grand total. “The council should have given some directions on how to calculate the grand total. It has only increased our workload,” said Harekrishan Bhattacharya, principal of Hare School.
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com
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