A 100 per cent cut-off percentage sounds bizarre. But it points to the larger issue of the incapacity of the system to ensure that there are adequate number of quality institutes to cater to bright students. Considering the trend of liberal marking these days, colleges have to resort to “weird measures” to limit the deluge of students.
Rahul Jain,
New Delhi
A 100% cut-off is a surprise but there are a number of reasons — growing population, rising middle-class aspirations, lack of quality education and the state's failure to efficiently employ successful graduates — that have led to the state of affairs.
Himalay Singh,
Meerut
The new cut-off criterion for undergraduate courses is a matter of concern not because of the marks but because of the direction in which our education system is heading. The existing system does not identify talent but encourages book worms, most of whom lack creativity and adaptability.
Ritu Paban Borah,
Dehradun
I would now like to publish a book titled How to Get 200 Out of 100. Any takers?
N. Nagarajan,
Secunderabad
Let's be realistic. The age of triple ‘99s' came into vogue a decade ago. That has now been crossed. How does a college filter candidates when the number of applicants with more than 99 per cent exceeds the intake? In the past, scoring 100 per cent even in mathematics was a stupendous task. Even a first rank student was unable to score more than 70 per cent aggregate. But that did not mean the standard of education was inferior.
In our enthusiasm to make students competitive for higher education, the qualifying examination question papers are losing weightage while valuation is becoming liberal. Institutions and tuition centres are there to ensure a centum rather than lay emphasis on knowledge. By making all competitive, we may end up making nobody competitive.
R. Sridhar,
Bangalore
