JEE compromise unfair on CBSE, ISCE students
Ever since the top 20 percentile bracket in Class XII board exams is declared as the only eligible lot to aspire for IIT admissions, the fairness of the clause is being questioned. In two separate studies, it has been found that students from Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) perform better than students of other several boards in national level exams, raising the level of competition for students from these boards.
In 2009, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore scientists PS Anil Kumar and Dibakar Chatterjee compared the performance of students in a common examination conducted by the Department of Science and Technology. The study covered all the 29 education boards of India over a period of ten years. It was the selection test of Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) conducted every year to choose candidates for a fellowship offered to high school science students.
The results of the test have shown that on an average, students from the CBSE, CISCE, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh boards perform far better in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics that students from other boards. The results were published in Current Science, India's top science journal in November 2009. Read more
Another independent study by Wipro and a non-profit group started by IIM, Ahmedabad alumni called Educational Initiatives also concluded that CBSE and CISCE students perform better than students of other boards in common exams. This study was published in December 2011.
Now with the percentile clause attached, the new IIT selection process will put students from tougher boards like CBSE, CISCE, and state boards of West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh at a disadvantage. Even if they are academically brighter than students of lenient boards, but they do not make it to their Board’s top 20 percentile, they won’t be eligible to sit for Advanced exam in JEE 2013, which will be the final step for IIT admission.
Experts from Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Calcutta had warned the govt about the situation but their recommendations had been conveniently ignored. Government had even claimed that the ISI Calcutta approved the use of percentiles for the new JEE. Know more
Another point is, while some state boards have fewer students appearing for the class XII exam, there are other state boards that are overpopulated. This makes the competition levels of different states highly incongruous. This means that even though HRD Ministry and IITs have reached a compromise on the common engineering test to be conducted next year, it does not mean it’s justified for all students. See details
