Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 28

Despite lowering the pass percentage, only 1,956 students — of the 4,787 who appeared — qualified for admission to Class XI in 10 government meritorious schools in the state.

The Society for Promotion of Quality Education for Poor and Meritorious Students of Punjab, which runs 10 schools, had lowered the passing percentage from 50 per cent to 40 per cent. However, it failed to bear fruit. Consequently, a large number of seats are likely to remain vacant.

NO DIRECT ADMISSION

We had to cancel the direct admissions to Class XII as the number of students that appeared and qualified was too low. Also, only a few months are left for the pre-boards, so they won’t have enough time for preparation. —Maninder Sarkaria, Project director, Meritorious schools

The 10 government meritorious schools in the state — the brainchild of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal — are seemingly being neglected by the current dispensation of education.

Six months have already gone by since the academic session started, but the admission process, ironically, is yet to be completed.

When asked about potential vacant seats in the current session, owing to the less number of students qualifying for the exam, Maninder Sarkaria, Project Director, Meritorious Schools, said, “We will take a decision after the counselling gets over. However, it is unlikely that we will hold another exam to fill up the vacant seats as we are short of time.”

Meanwhile, the Class XII admission process this year has already been cancelled after only a few students qualified for it. Notably, for the first time, direct admissions to the Class XII were initiated at meritorious schools to cover up the gap caused by the Covid pandemic because the regular process could not take place for 1.5 years.