A few arts and science colleges that had allotted a certain percentage of seats to students from the Central Board of Secondary Education are not regretting their decision.
Though it took them some effort to hold on to that quota – which varies between five and 15 per cent – because of the long gap between the publication of the State Board Plus-Two and CBSE Grade XII results, colleges say that the wait was worth it because they got quality students.
With the gap getting wider every year, the apprehension levels of CBSE students aspiring to enter arts and science colleges only increases. This is because the Government or the affiliating university does not stipulate a fixed quota for CBSE students.
Colleges that admit these students regularly every year do so out of their own interest, even at the cost of the long gap. The number is discretionary. K. Sundararaman, Principal of Sri Krishna Arts and Science College, says that the college is keen to admit CBSE students because they are good. It has admitted nearly 150 students.
“We try to reserve 10 – 15 per cent seats for them. There is a slight increase or decrease depending on the number of State Board students who fail to take the provisional admission. Almost all students have 80 per cent and above and those from the humanities opt for commerce, and others go for biotechnology, microbiology, or computer science,” he says.
CBSE students prefer to apply only in colleges that are ranked among the top five in the city. These colleges get an idea of seats to be reserved from the number of CBSE students who register when they buy applications.
This year, with many high-scoring State Board students preferring to study in arts and science colleges and the gap between State Board and CBSE results touching the 16-day mark, the competition became even tougher for the CBSE students.
According to Geetha Jayachandran, Principal of Yuvabharathi Public School, those from CBSE wishing to continue higher education in Tamil Nadu find the going tough.
“Since there is no fixed quota in colleges, students are in a quandary till they are formally admitted,” she says.
Echoing the fears of parents, she says that though there are a few colleges admitting CBSE students, there is no laid down rules on quota, process of admission, cut-offs, or normalisation of marks. The fate of those who scored below 80 per cent is again anyone’s guess.
This year, some CBSE students preferred to switch over to the State Board in Plus-One because their parents did not want them to go through the hassle that their seniors did on completion of Grade XII.
