Class 12 scores still relevant in era of common entrance test: Experts | Latest News Delhi

Unlike previous years, when a good score in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 exam was enough for admission to colleges under the Delhi University and other institutes, the board exam score will now serve as the minimum eligibility criteria and a tie-breaker during the admission process. With most universities in the Capital adopting the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to undergraduate courses from this year, stakeholders say that the pressure of scoring high marks in boards might have reduced but the scores themselves have not been rendered redundant.

Earlier this month, Delhi University (DU) vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh said that Class 12 marks will be considered as tiebreakers in case multiple students end up with the same CUET score.

Sudha Acharya, chairperson of the National Progressive School Conference (NPSC) — it has more than 120 Delhi schools as its members, including Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Delhi Public Schools and Amity International School —said that while initially it seemed that CUET would make board scores redundant, one could not underplay the importance of boards since universities would use Class 12 scores for tie-breaking.

“Besides serving as a tie-breaker for undergraduate admissions, CBSE scores are often sought by institutes for post-graduate admission. We have been telling our students that they should continue to give importance to boards since the score will definitely come in handy at some point. Students have performed very well in CUET as well. In a situation where there might be too many high-scorers, board scores will decide how students are admitted to colleges,” said Acharya, principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka.

Besides serving as the tie-breaker, admission to the School of Open Learning (SOL) and Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB) will be through merit-based admissions which would require students to furnish their Class 12 scores.

Payal Mago, director of Delhi University’s Campus of Open Learning, and chairman of SOL’s governing body said that SOL will continue to grant admission at the undergraduate level on the basis of Class 12 scores. SOL offers seven undergraduate courses at present. From this year onwards, the number of UG courses offered by the institute is set to increase. While the institute has unlimited seats, the Class 12 scores serve as the minimum eligibility criteria in many courses.

“Admission to courses offered by SOL will not take place through CUET. We will continue to conduct merit-based admissions. In some courses such as English honours, students would need above 65% to take admission. Similarly, other courses will have criteria,” said Mago.

She said that CBSE Class 12 marks would continue to hold importance since one couldn’t perform well in CUET without performing well in boards. “Students who do well in CUET will automatically do well in the board exams as well. The two are closely interlinked and one cannot ignore boards even if CUET serves as the mechanism for entrance to some courses,” said Mago.

Manoj Sinha, principal of Aryabhatta College and general secretary of DU principals’ association, was of the opinion that the new methodology of induction through CUET had rendered the board score redundant, albeit partially. “The focus has now shifted to CUET so it will not be incorrect to say that the relevance of board scores has eroded partially. However, the scores have not become completely redundant. In CUET, hundreds of students might get the same marks. As tie-breaker, the CBSE Class 12 score will play a huge role in deciding who gets admission and who doesn’t,” said Sinha.

He added that a significant section of the student population chose to take admission to the School of Open Learning, especially those who might want to pursue a dual degree. The University Grants Commission (UGC) allowed Indian universities and colleges to offer dual degrees earlier this year.

“So many people take admission in SOL. It’s a wrong perception that only those students who fail to secure admission elsewhere come to SOL. Many people choose to pursue these courses while they are working professionally and cannot adhere to attendance and other requirements mandated in a regular course,” said Sinha.