Results of class X examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for Chennai Region were declared here on Tuesday.
The results were that of the first batch of students who had the option of either taking the school-based examination or appearing for the board examination.
In Chennai Region, over 1,36,720 students took the examination. While 89,543 students opted for the board examination, 47,269 took the school examination. There were 1,257 private candidates, according to R. Sundaram, Assistant Secretary, Regional Office, Chennai.
Officials in the office of the Controller of Examinations, CBSE, New Delhi, said that the pass percentage would be released for all the regions together. “Results for the Chennai Region alone have been declared. The results of the other regions are likely to be out on Friday. The pass percentages will be release then,” an official said.
Ever since the announcement regarding the class X examination being made optional for students was made, the CBSE had maintained that the mark sheet would not indicate if the candidate took the school-based examination or the board examination, thereby putting them on equal footing.
However, the printed statement of marks that students received on Tuesday mentioned the option students had chosen. School principals said the final statement of marks issued by the Board would not bear the detail.
Co-curricular areas
The mark sheets of students pointed to the equal emphasis given to the student's performance in academic as well as co-curricular activities. Students who had performed well in the co-scholastic areas got their grades in one of the subjects upgraded.
“The CBSE believes that all round development of students is important. Therefore, if a student's performance in the co-scholastic areas is good, his or her grade in one academic subject (scholastic area) will be increased,” said Ajit Prasad Jain, Senior principal, Bhavan's Rajaji Vidyashram.
Another concern some parents seeking admissions for their children into the State Board stream for Plus- Two is on how a candidate's score is presented. The Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) provided in the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) certificate is the average of Grade Points obtained in all the subjects excluding additional sixth subject. “It is not very clear if schools of other boards will convert and accept the marks presented in that format,” said M. Vaishali, a student. CBSE sources, however, said that an indicative equivalence of grade point and percentage of marks could be calculated. For subject-wise indicative percentage of marks, students could multiply the GP by 9.5 and for the overall indicative percentage of marks the CGPA could be multiplied by 9.5.
Tough task
CBSE Schools, on the other hand, are finding it hard to accommodate all the students in class XI, particularly because most schools find a good number students having scored A grade or above in all the subjects. “There is a significant increase in the number of students who have scored 10 GP (A1 grade) in all the subjects,” said P.C. Selvarani, principal, SBOA School and Junior College.
With CBSE guidelines and a Madras High Court order mandating it for schools to make seats available to all their students before admitting students from other schools, institutions may have a tough time.
“The best performers have already been given provisional admission. There are 142 students from the school who have 10 GPA. This will make it difficult to give admissions even to students of the school who have scored 80 per cent, leave alone students from other schools,” said Radhika Unni, vice-principal, SBOA School and Junior College.
C. Satish, senior principal, R.M.K. Group of Schools, said in his school, based on the students' performance in classes IX and X, teachers and the principal had given suggestions to parents regarding what might be a better option for their children. “It has largely worked for us and our class XI admissions are nearly over.” Despite the concerns, the grading system seems to have motivated many students. Sabari Shankar, who opted for the school-based examination and scored an A1 grade, said: “There are many students who have 10 CGPA and the new system has given a chance for more students to be rated as ‘high-achievers.”
