KOLKATA: He might be one of the finest examples of board migration, but Devansh Chandak — one of the city’s
CBSE toppers — is not the only one. Chandak had been a CISCE student till class X, but shifted to CBSE subsequently. Several toppers claimed to have benefitted by migrating from boards like the CISCE and
West Bengal Higher Secondary Council to CBSE for plus two. Not only have their grades improved, the shift also helped them crack various national entrance examinations, they said. Chandak, a student of Birla High School, scored 495 out of 500.
Devansh had appeared in ICSE from La Martiniere for Boys’ School and had bagged 98.6% in ICSE. He was one of the toppers from Kolkata. “I switched over to CBSE to secure better marks in plus two as well as to follow the NCERT curriculum on which most entrance examinations are held. Ifelt, moving to CBSE would give me a better chance at cracking the entrance exams, Devansh said on Saturday from Mumbai.
Sayantan Das, a science stream student from
DPS Ruby Park had migrated from Garden High School — also affiliated to the CISCE — after his ICSE. He has bagged 96.2% in CBSE. “Most competitive examinations follow the NCERT curriculum and I did not want to miss out on the opportunity,” said Sayantan who aims to study physics and has appeared in IIT-JEE (Advanced).
Riddi Roy had secured 90% in Madhyamik from
Carmel High School, but switched to Lakshmipat Singhania Academy for her plus two.
“I was weak in Bengali and so dropped the subject. Since CBSE conducts JEE (Mains), my parents felt switching over to a CBSE school would give me a better chance at cracking the JEE examinations,” she said. Riddhi has appeared in IITJEE (Advanced).
Eye on entrance exams, students prefer CBSE
Amrita Ghosh had migrated from MP Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School to Birla Bharati School and has bagged 94.6% in CBSE from the science stream. “I thought I stood a better chance of doing well in Class XII and would crack the entrance exams more easily if I moved. My score in ICSE was 97%. Since, CBSE organizes the entrance tests we are not required to devote additional time to prepare our school curriculum,” Amrita added.
Devam Kakoty of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy migrated to Bengal from Assam to enrol in a CBSE school. He has secured 95%.
“I studied in a CISCE school in Assam and got 95.2% in ICSE. I migrated to Kolkata just to enroll in a CBSE school. I had taken a coaching to crack the joint entrance exams and simultaneously pursued classes in plus two,” Devam said.
Principal of Rammohan Mission School Sujay Biswas, however, felt this was a wrong notion. “It is the Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE)-approved syllabus which is followed by both CISCE and CBSE . In physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology they now have similar syllabus,” Biswas said. He added that
ISC has presented its first batch in 2018 when the common curriculum was followed for the first time. “Now, there is no difference among the two boards,” he pointed out.
An official of West Bengal Higher Secondary Council said there are some “flexibilities” offered by some schools affiliated to CBSE. “In our system it is compulsory to secure 75% attendance in order to be eligible to appear in Higher Secondary examination. There are schools that allow a relaxation. Now, there are schools where students even opt to prepare for board exams while taking tuitions for entrance exams. Candidates who aim for a career only in medical or engineering prefer CBSE schools,” the official said.
Another school principal — affiliated to CISCE — said the standard of English is very high in ISC, which is also a strength of the board. “As a result, considerable time is needed to secure high marks in English. The primary objective of many students is to ace the entrance tests. What they fail to understand is that apart from efficiency, English skills are expected for promotion to a managerial post.
Director of Birla High Schools Mukta Nain said the revised curriculum of science and mathematics has given an edge to students aiming for JEE.
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