ICSE schools won't choose the way of CBSE

Although the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to make the annual board examination at the end of class X optional, the other pan-India board of secondary education, the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), has decided that all students must face the board examination, without exception.

There is no move to introduce a different system of evaluation akin to the CBSE's Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation, (CCE), which takes account of a range of skills, apart from academics.

Principals of the ICSE schools in the city feel that a little stress as a teenager never did any harm. It is a challenge that students must face, and it will strengthen them and leave them better prepared to face examinations in future.

“The ICSE board should not make the examination optional. A board exam is any day better. It gives students an idea about where they stand, at the all-India level. Facing the first such examination at the age of 15 or 16 will leave the student better equipped for such examinations in future, and empower him/her to deal with other examinations they have to take for entry to professional courses and colleges with confidence,” said Radhika Lobo, principal, New Horizon Public School.

The principals added that the ICSE board had a record of conducting systematic and impartial examinations, so there was no question of undue stress. Besides, if the schools were allowed to conduct the final examination of their own, the whole seriousness of the exercise would get lost.

“The ICSE is organised and systematic. There is no reason to make the examination optional. The stress that children face in taking the examination is healthy,” said Sister Pauline, principal, Sacred Heart Girl's High School. She added that students who felt that they could not cope with the pressure of the board

examination already had other options — they could shift to another board, or take the open school route for higher education.

Father Celestine Sera, principal, St. Joseph's Boys' High School, said that the centralised correction process also ensured that there was fairness in the system, and all bias was ruled out. This too was one reason why it was healthy for students passing out of secondary school to take the board examination, he said.

He added that there was no need to divide students at the end of class ten, into two categories, those taking the board examinations and those choosing not to.

25% quota in schools for poor kids ordered by Administration

In a major move towards implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act,
the Patna administration on Sunday directed all CBSE/ICSE-affiliated schools in the district to reserve 25% of the available seats in Class I/nursery sections for children belonging to weaker sections of the society. 

Patna DM Jitendra Kumar Sinha issued the directive at a meeting with principals/representatives of these schools. As many as 75 schools were represented in the meet, official sources said and added they were also directed to inform the administration about the number of seats available in these sections in their respective schools.

The schools have been asked to reserve seats for children belonging to weaker sections and hailing from the neighborhood of the school, ie. a radius of 1 km. Half of this quota will be reserved for girls.

It could not be known immediately if the quota would be implemented from the coming academic session in 2011-12. Many of these schools were confused on the issue and said they would think about it.

"We will take a call on it later," Notre Dame principal Sister Tessy told TOI on Sunday evening. Loyola's Brother Felix and Don Bosco's Mary Alphonso echoed Sister Tessy when this paper reached them for their reaction.

District officials, however, quoted a state human resources department (HRD) circular to point out that the quota is mandatory. The circular, issued recently, has directed district administrations to implement various provisions of the RTE Act related to admissions in schools. 

Rejecting the demand from a section of private school managements to allow them to continue with admission tests for Class I, the state HRD has said that no child should be subjected to screening at the time of admission. DM Sinha said, adding selection of children should be done randomly.TOI

Will not make Class 10 exams optional: ICSE

The ICSE board is not going to make the Class 10 board exams optional for its students, the board’s additional secretary and chief executive officer,  Gerry Arathoon, said on Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference of ICSE principals. “It’s a big no,” said Arathoon.  “A student must get the feel of what a board exam is, it’s a preparation for the Class 12 board exam. If they perform badly then, then entry into university will be a problem.”

The CBSE board has made the Class 10 board exam option from 2011.

Arathoon decried the CBSE’s new system of the internal school exam. “Giving all the power to the teacher is a crime,” said Arathoon. “I trust our teachers, but even teachers have their limitations.”

Arathoon said measures that the CBSE board had undertaken such as the continuous comprehensive evaluation for lower classes and extra writing time for students with learning disabilities were already in place for ICSE students.

The ICSE board is in the process of revising its syllabus for Classes 1 to 8, but Arathoon did not elaborate further on what these might be. “It’s in process,” he said. “Changes are made as and when required.”

There are nearly 100 ICSE schools in Maharashtra.

For the past three years, ICSE students’ parents have taken the state government to court over admissions policies for entry to the state-board affiliated junior colleges.

“The state government has lost thrice in the high court, let us see what happens this time in the Supreme Court,” said Arathoon. The case is pending in the Supreme Court.

After the high court struck down the Best-Five scheme for SSC students in July, the state went to the Supreme Court.

In an interim order, the SC ruled in August that for the 2010 admissions, the Best-Five subjects of ICSE students would also apply, excluding the Group 3 subjects that are application-based. ICSE schools and students had been upset by this rider.

“We cannot do away with the group 3 subjects just for Maharashtra,” said Arathoon. “I don’t understand why the state has a problem as far as ICSE students are concerned, there are just 7,000 of them.”

The board has been advising schools to add the ISC (plus two qualification) to avoid the problem of moving from an ICSE school to a junior college after Class 10. “I had no problems, it all went smoothly,” said Prerna, 23, a CAT candidate who appeared for the exam on Monday. “I had a very bad experience last year with my centre suddenly being reallocated. But this year when I saw that the friends of mine who appeared for the exam before me had no problems, I was not really anxious about the process.”HT