Cut-offs for junior colleges in Maharashtra may rise

After the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) examination, high scores in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) results for Class 10 only are likely to push up the cut-offs for junior colleges further, making it tougher for secondary school certificate (SSC) students to get through.

Last year, only six students, including one from Mumbai, featured on the ICSE merit list. This year, the list has 13 students, including six from Mumbai and one from Navi Mumbai, all of them scoring 99% and above.

“If more students score above-95%, the cut-offs will rise. We face this problem every year,” said Parag Ajgaonkar, principal, Narsee Monjee College, Vile Parle.

Even if the success rate of students in the CBSE Class 10 tests dipped by 4% across the nation and 2% in the Chennai region, there is no dearth of students scoring above 90% – a Herculean task for state board students.

As many as 1.31 lakh of the 16.24 lakh students, who took the CBSE exams, in the country scored 90% and above, while 24,476 scored 95% or more.

Several schools in the city witnessed a rise in the number of students scoring in the highest marks bracket.

At RN Podar School, Santacruz, more than 64% of the Class 10 batch scored above 90% this year. The figure stood at 45% in 2017.

Similarly, 42 of the 121 students at New Horizons Scholars School got 90% or more marks this year. Last year, only 18 of the 74 students were in this bracket.

“Our batch has done extremely well this year and we are proud of them. The overall performance of students in specific subjects, too, has improved,” said Suman Samarth, from RN Podar School.

Some schools reported an opposite trend. For example, DAV School, Kharghar saw the proportion of students with 90% drop to 33% from 48%.