West Bengal: English mismatch fears, review clamour grows
The CBSE Class XII results brought joy to examinees from Bengal, with the state performing significantly better than the nation and region in terms of success rate. But the stellar results may be a cause for worry among ISC examinees, who feel they are now at a disadvantage, especially because of their not-so-good performance in English.
Photo used for representational purpose onlyKOLKATA: The CBSE Class XII results brought joy to examinees from Bengal, with the state performing significantly better than the nation and region in terms of success rate. But the stellar results may be a cause for worry among ISC examinees, who feel they are now at a disadvantage, especially because of their not-so-good performance in English.
Even at first glance, the number of students who received 80s and 90s in CBSE’s English exam was much more than their ISC counterparts.
A number of teachers felt this “marksheet disparity” would make it more difficult for ISC examinees during college admissions, and increased the clamour for a review of ISC English marks.
“ISC students will suffer. There should be a level playing field,” said Fr Bikash Mondal, principal, Don Bosco Park Circus. In his CISCE-affiliated school, only 8 out of 158 students who appeared for ISC this year scored above 95% in English; at Sushila Birla Girls’ School, 67 of the 193 students who appeared for CBSE Class XII scored above 95% in the subject. A teacher at a CISCE-affiliated school in Baranagar said: “Colleges and universities should consider the difference between the elaborate English, which is taught in CISCE-affiliated schools, and the core English taught in CBSE schools. Accordingly, colleges and universities should prepare their cut-off marks for English separately for different boards during undergraduate admissions.”
Adrija Sengupta, an ISC candidate, said she was determined to study English honours. “But I hope this (comparatively lower marks for ISC) does not put me at a disadvantage while appearing for an entrance test at universities and colleges,” she said.
Bengal, with a pass percentage of 93.9%, outperformed both the nation (88.8%) and the Bhubaneswar region (91.5%), under which it figures, in the overall results. But, for countless examinees and parents, the happiness had to wait as they suffered the anxiety of not knowing how they did for several hours after the results were out, thanks to the board’s official websites crashing.
Immediately after the results were declared, around mid-day, the websites — results.nic.in, cbseresults.nic.in and cbse.nic.in — started to malfunction. For the next five hours, there were reports of several anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns suffered by both examinees and parents as they could not see how they performed.
The examinees could finally access their results after 5pm.
While overall marks secured by students was high, some students who had missed out on subjects they considered their strength, because of the cancellation of exams over Covid-19, felt they could have done better had the exams been held.
In this year’s CBSE, for students who had appeared for more than three subjects, the average of the best three performing subjects was awarded for subjects for which the exam could not be held. For students who appeared in exams in only three subjects, the average of marks obtained in ‘best two performing subjects’ was considered. For the few students who appeared for only one or two subjects, the result was calculated based on performance in appeared subjects and performance in internal or practical- or project-based assessment.
Even at first glance, the number of students who received 80s and 90s in CBSE’s English exam was much more than their ISC counterparts.
A number of teachers felt this “marksheet disparity” would make it more difficult for ISC examinees during college admissions, and increased the clamour for a review of ISC English marks.
“ISC students will suffer. There should be a level playing field,” said Fr Bikash Mondal, principal, Don Bosco Park Circus. In his CISCE-affiliated school, only 8 out of 158 students who appeared for ISC this year scored above 95% in English; at Sushila Birla Girls’ School, 67 of the 193 students who appeared for CBSE Class XII scored above 95% in the subject. A teacher at a CISCE-affiliated school in Baranagar said: “Colleges and universities should consider the difference between the elaborate English, which is taught in CISCE-affiliated schools, and the core English taught in CBSE schools. Accordingly, colleges and universities should prepare their cut-off marks for English separately for different boards during undergraduate admissions.”
Adrija Sengupta, an ISC candidate, said she was determined to study English honours. “But I hope this (comparatively lower marks for ISC) does not put me at a disadvantage while appearing for an entrance test at universities and colleges,” she said.
Bengal, with a pass percentage of 93.9%, outperformed both the nation (88.8%) and the Bhubaneswar region (91.5%), under which it figures, in the overall results. But, for countless examinees and parents, the happiness had to wait as they suffered the anxiety of not knowing how they did for several hours after the results were out, thanks to the board’s official websites crashing.
Immediately after the results were declared, around mid-day, the websites — results.nic.in, cbseresults.nic.in and cbse.nic.in — started to malfunction. For the next five hours, there were reports of several anxiety attacks and nervous breakdowns suffered by both examinees and parents as they could not see how they performed.
The examinees could finally access their results after 5pm.
While overall marks secured by students was high, some students who had missed out on subjects they considered their strength, because of the cancellation of exams over Covid-19, felt they could have done better had the exams been held.
In this year’s CBSE, for students who had appeared for more than three subjects, the average of the best three performing subjects was awarded for subjects for which the exam could not be held. For students who appeared in exams in only three subjects, the average of marks obtained in ‘best two performing subjects’ was considered. For the few students who appeared for only one or two subjects, the result was calculated based on performance in appeared subjects and performance in internal or practical- or project-based assessment.
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