The Union government has set the ball rolling on bringing about a convergence in the core syllabi of science subjects and question paper designs across State and central boards.
“A few committees with representatives of several boards have had some meetings, and we will discuss their findings to seek convergence among boards,” a Human Resource Development Ministry official told The Hindu .
The move acquires importance because of a perceived lack of parity in the syllabi of Physics, Chemistry and Maths across boards.
“We also need to have the same marks for theory and practicals in science subjects, as higher weightage for practicals in a board can push up marks,” the official said.
Board examination marks now get weight in the IIT-JEE, though this will go from the next year. Many feel that the lack of parity may deny a level-playing field to students from across the country in any admission that counts Class XII marks.
While Ministry officials refused to get into it, there have been reports that a large number of admissions to Sri Ram College of Commerce here this year were from Tamil Nadu and Kerala State boards, as the first-list cut-offs hovered around 98 per cent.
In the CBSE Class XII results, an official said, just 0.9 per cent of the students could cross 95 per cent marks, which is “a very small number”.
There have been reports claiming that the CBSE is already inflating marks of students so that they may compete with students from State boards.
An official, however, said the “moderation” process was never undertaken for students scoring 95 per cent and above.. The exercise is complex as State boards have to be brought on board for it. And this could spark off debates within the states. However, there are takers for the view that convergence can provide a level-playing field.
