Board parity call without formula

Updated on: Thursday, June 09, 2011

Call it the fallout of an alarming decrease in the higher secondary pass percentage this year or the state's decision to re-introduce 'parity' between various boards, Bengal may go back to the days of different admission criteria for different boards. "There has to be a rationality in marks.A parity needs to be brought about. The criteria of admission cannot be same for boards that award more marks and those that give less.We will be sending a circular to universities, instructing them to decide the parameters for different boards for admissions," said higher education secretary Satish Tewari on Monday.

The HS pass percentage has dipped from 80.78% last year to 76.54% this year. "The number of students scoring poorly has also increased from last year. These students will suffer if they have to compete with students from other boards scoring higher marks," said teacher of a city based college.

According to Calcutta University regulations, however, no discrimination can be made between students from different boards. "How can you say for sure that students appearing in higher secondary examinations score less than students in ISC or CBSE?" asks a senior teacher of Presidency He gives his reasons: "In higher secondary, the syllabus has been bifurcated. Students no longer have to appear for two papers on each subject. The stress has reduced. They are also awarded good marks in the board examinations. There is no reason to believe that HS students score poorly compared with other boards."

What about the supposed bias in marks for particular districts? "This happens because the head examiners distribute the answerscripts to examiners who take them home to correct the copies. So long as this system continues, bias will always exist. ISC and CBSE have a much more systematic system to check answerscripts where the examiners correct the copies at one centre," said another Presidency teacher.

Calcutta University has made it mandatory for colleges to select students on the best four subjects excluding environment science. Individual colleges, however, have made certain 'rationalization' in boards for a few subjects, say sources.

In Presidency University, students applying for English honours need to score 75% (80% for students from science stream) marks in aggregate with 75% marks in English. But for students of the HS board taking English as first language, the minimum subject score is 65%. "The higher secondary English first language exam is extremely difficult.

It is a literature based, low scoring paper. Hence, the difference," explained Prabi Dasgupta, the admissions chairperson of Presidency University. This is only the criteria to apply for the course followed by an admissions test. In Benthune College, too, a rationalization formula exists.

To apply in political science, students from all boards require 60% in the best four subjects and 55% in English for HS students and 655 in English for other boards. Lady Brabourne College has already held the admission tests for English. The criteria for applying to the course was — WBHS board English A 75% or English B-80%. For all other boards the criteria was 85% in English.

"We have not received any circular yet. The higher education council can definitely evolve a uniform policy for admissions which all the state universities can follow. Especially if the changed circumstances demand so," said CU vice-chancellor Suranjan Das.

Higher education minister Bratya Basu said that the equation may be worked out next year: "This year we could not frame the guidelines. Next year, we will be in a position to rationalise scores between various boards before admissions," he said.

Times of India

Board parity call without formula

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