Class X exams held with sanitizers at hand

— Vinamrata Borwankar

Mumbai:

On Wednesday, amid Covid-19 worries, schools conducted SSC and CBSE Class X exams on campus. Authorities said utmost care was taken to ensure students and teachers were not at risk.

While the state cancelled all school and college exams till March 31, they allowed schools to continue with Class X and XII board exams.

Over 3.6 lakh SSC students appeared for Science II paper from Mumbai division, which includes Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad. “We had sent out instructions to all exam centres to allow the use of sanitizers and take as many precautions as necessary. In case students wanted to wear masks, they were allowed to do so. We also provided sanitizers during moderators’ meetings. For the next two exams, similar precautions would be taken,” said Sandeep Sangave, secretary of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education's Mumbai division. While HSC exams ended on Wednesday, SSC students have two more papers to appear for.

Class X CBSE students took social science paper. Madhu Singh, principal, Billabong High International School at Malad, said, “We are educating our invigilators to keep a vigil on the health of kids and identify students showing symptoms. Teachers were oriented about symptoms by a certified doctor. We kept only 12 kids in a room and the distance between each kid was a minimum of one metre.”

CISCE issued an advisory to teachers to evaluate board exam papers from home.

Source : https://epaper.timesgroup.com

CBSE board results to be declared on time

Mon Mar 16 2020

CBSE board results to be declared on time

Coronavirus outbreak and Delhi riots will not disrupt the evaluation process of answer sheets and announcement of results

c-Jagriti.Kumari@timesgroup.com

Despite rescheduling of board examination timetable due to violence in parts of Delhi, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is hoping to declare class X and XII results on time. CBSE is taking every step to be on time to avoid inconvenience to the students and hampering their chances of securing admission in undergraduate programmes.

“The board officials are working hard to conclude the exams on time. The evaluation process will begin soon after the examinations are over to ensure timely announcement of the results,” says Sanyam Bhardwaj, controller of examinations, CBSE.

“The board is coordinating with schools to arrange centres and avoid any clash with any other examinations,” Bhardwaj adds. He, however, refused to divulge other details related to the exams.

The exams in the affected areas of Delhi for class XII will begin on March 31 and conclude on April 14, while exams for class X will be conducted from March 21-30. The new schedule has been announced for the students in the violence-hit areas of northeast Delhi.

Since 1929, this is for the first time that the board has rescheduled the exams dates. “The board will have an exact number of students who appear in the extended schedule by March 16,” he adds.

Global outbreak of coronavirus has not changed the evaluation dates scheduled for the CBSE teachers. “There may be some changes in the CBSE schools in middle east that are temporarily closed. We do not have any confirmation on that,” adds Bharadwaj. More than 220 schools in 25 foreign countries – including 78 in the UAE are affiliated to CBSE. Despite the closure of schools in affected countries, the board has been able to conduct examinations scheduled until March 12.

Source : https://epaper.timesgroup.com

CBSE may seat only 12 students in an exam room

CBSE may seat only 12 students in an exam room

By: Abhishek.Choudhari@timesgroup.com 

Nagpur:

In its ongoing effort to keep board exam candidates safe from coronavirus, CBSE is preparing to rejig its exam room seating pattern in a major way.

Sources told TOI that the number of students in a room may be restricted to only 12 from the current cap of 24. This change is going to be put into effect for exams scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to the plan, a minimum distance of one metre has to be kept between two candidates. Only one invigilator will be appointed for one room of 12 candidates.

As per sources, the schools have already been informed to get plan going. The schools have been told to “treat this message as urgent” and start work of preparing seating arrangements in the hall. Though the message came late in the evening, schools were not complaining. A teacher said, “We understand that the coronavirus situation is fast developing. So, this sudden announcements are expected. Yes, it’s a logistical challenge but the shutdown announced by Maharashtra government will help us a lot because there won’t be any distraction for schools.”

Source : https://epaper.timesgroup.com

CBSE delivers googly to Class XII physics, accountancy students

CBSE said the board has a practice of sending ‘Observation Schedules’ to all school heads to share their feedback on the question papers.

Published: 07th March 2020

KOCHI: Across the country, examination fever has the entire student community in its grip, with students of Classes XII and X of nearly all the boards engaged in last-minute preparations for the crucial tests. But as has been the case throughout, this year too the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has given students a fright. The students found the Class XII physics and accountancy papers quite difficult.

“Only students, who are bright or extraordinary, might have been able to crack the exam. Though based on the syllabus, the questions were very difficult to comprehend, especially for a 17-year-old,” said Suchitra A C, physics teacher of Greets Public School.

She said the average and above-average students could have never been able to answer the questions during the three-hour paper in the tense atmosphere of an examination hall. “Of course, if the students were asked the same questions in a different scenario, they might have solved it,” she said.

If students found the physics paper tough, with nearly all the questions at application level, those who appeared for accountancy  laboured to complete the paper. “It was very lengthy,” said Priya Fazil, mother of a Class XII Commerce student. She said the short-answer questions took up the time usually given to  questions which carry five  or 10 marks . “Three hours were a very short time frame for an Accountancy paper,” she said.

Pointing out that the issue is the same across the nation, T P M Ibrahim Khan, president, Kerala CBSE Schools Management Association, said, “The association has sought a report from all the schools. Based on it, we will send a complaint to the board and ask them to make the valuation liberal.”

The Council of CBSE Schools Kerala too has taken up the issue with the board. Indira Rajan, secretary-general, National Council of CBSE Schools, said the council has already sent a letter to the board in this regard.

“We received a report on the question papers from schools following a thorough analysis by  teachers. Based on it, we have asked the board to take action in students’ interest,” she said.

CBSE said the board has a practice of sending ‘Observation Schedules’ to all school heads to share their feedback on the question papers. “The feedback is examined by subject experts for its merits before finalising the marking scheme. The board will take similar action in all such cases,” the  CBSE said in a release.

Source: https://www.newindianexpress.com

JEE Advanced 2020: Girls to have 20% supernumerary seats reserved at IITs

JEE Advanced 2020: Last year, the reservation was at 17 per cent and 14 per cent in 2018. These seats are in addition to the available seats and a separate merit list will also be released for females.

By: Education Desk | New Delhi | Updated: March 9, 2020

JEE Advanced 2020: There’s good news for females aspiring to study at Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Instead of the prevailing 20 per cent reservation for women, the IITs will now make seats supernumerary in nature. This implies that additional seats will be created without any effect on those available otherwise. A separate merit list will also be created for females to allow them to have the flexibility of choosing a better campus.

Last year, the reservation was at 17 per cent and 14 per cent in 2018. These additional reserved seats were the recommendation of a committee headed by Timothy A Gonsalves, Director, IIT Mandi. The committee addressed several issues including the fact that the rate of qualifying IITs is lesser in girls as compared to boys, females further tend to take a seat closer to home rather than an IIT in a far-flung area. A girl is yet to top the JEE Advanced or entrance test of IITs.

 Further, IITs have created 10 per cent supernumerary seats for students belonging to foreign nations. Additionally, over 1100 seats are reserved for foreign students across courses and campuses. Foreign nationals are not required to clear JEE Main. However, for Indian students, only top 2.5 rank holders from JEE Main are allowed to appear for JEE Advanced. Yet, the number of foreign students in IITs remain low. In 2018, only 51 foreign students registered for the exam and 36 students appeared for JEE Advanced.

Apart from these, there is 15 per cent reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5 per cent for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates in every course. Persons with Disability (PwD) also get 5 per cent seats reserved at IITs.

Source :  www.indianexpress.com

ISRO Young Scientist Programme YUVIKA 2020: Registration date extended

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has extended the last date to register for its Young scientist programme 2020 by 10 days.

Nilesh Mathur | Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Feb 24, 2020

   

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has extended the last date to register for its Young scientist programme 2020 by 10 days. In a Twitter message released on Sunday, ISRO informed about the extension of date for registration saying that it was being done to have greater participation.

The application process for Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Young scientist programme 2020 began on February 3, 2020 and students were asked to apply by 6pm on February 24. However, aspirants have now been given 10 more days to apply for the programme.

In the tweet informing about the extension of registration date, ISRO also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his encouraging words about YUva VIgyani KAryakram (Yuvika) Programme. PM Modi had lauded the ISRO YUVIKA 2020 in the latest Mann Ki Baath edition.

The Young scientist programme is aimed at imparting basic knowledge about Space Technology, Space Science and Space applications to the younger ones with the intent of arousing their interest in the emerging areas of Space activities.

The programme will be for two weeks duration, during the summer holidays, i.e. from May 11 to 22, 2020.

ISRO will be selecting three students from each state and union territories for the programme, who will later get lectures by ISRO scientists and will also get access to the space agency’s laboratories.

Students who have completed their 8th standard and are currently pursuing 9th grade can apply for the programme. Students should be from CBSE, ICSE or any other state board that is recognized by the Government of India. The selection is based on the 8th Standard academic performance and extracurricular activities. 

Check details below:

Note: Interested students should visit isro.gov.in to check details before applying.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com

Council passes bill to make Marathi must in all schools

MUMBAI | Feb 26, 2020 | HT Correspondent

Marathi is all set to become a compulsory language in schools across all boards in Maharashtra, as the legislative Council unanimously passed a bill on it on Wednesday.

This means Marathi will become mandatory in all Central board schools, including Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) too.

The bill makes it compulsory for all schools in Maharashtra teaching students in Hindi, English and other regional languages to have Marathi in its curriculum for students from Class 1 to 10. Anyone defying this law will have to pay a fine of ₹1 lakh.

Marathi will be introduced in Class 1 and 6 from the coming academic year (2020-21) in a phased manner. Anyone who is currently studying in Class 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 will not be affected.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray made the speech in the Council, calling himself fortunate to table such a bill during his tenure. “It was imperative for my generation to preserve this language for the future generation. Marathi has a glorious history, tradition and culture and the time has come to embrace it,” said Thackeray. “My sons went to English-medium schools, but speak excellent Marathi.”

The bill has been drafted along the lines of enactments made by southern states namely Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, which have made regional languages compulsory.

The bill stated that many schools tend to keep Marathi as an optional subject, while some minority schools do not teach Marathi at all. Hence this bill was tabled to correct the anomaly.

It will now be presented before the Assembly and after its passage in the lower house, will be sent to the Governor for his assent. Following this, a notification will be issued to make it a law.

Opposition leader in the legislative council Pravin Darekar said, “We should crack down on schools not following this order and there should be no compromise on adopting the language.”

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/

CBSE 10th English Question Paper 2020

TOI-Online | Feb 26, 2020, 02.34 PM IST

CBSE 10th English Question Paper 2020CBSE 10th English Question Paper 2020

CBSE Class 10 English (Language and Literature - Subject Code 184) Examination 2019-20 was conducted on February 26, 2020. The annual board examination question paper of Class 10 English subject was of 80 marks, with a duration of three hours. There was an internal assessment for 20 Marks. The main exam question paper of 10th English subject was divided into three sections - Reading, Writing with Grammar, and Literature.

Section-wise Weightage

Section A - Reading Skills - 20 marks

Section B - Writing Skills with Grammar - 30 marks

Section C - Literature Textbook and Supplementary Reading Text - 30 marks

Section A - Reading Skills

The section A had two reading passages

1) A Factual passage 300-350 words with eight Objective Type Questions - 8 marks

2) A Discursive passages of 350-400 words with four Short Answer Type Questions to test inference, evaluation and analysis four Objective Type Questions (including Multiple Choice Questions) to test vocabulary - 12 marks

Section B - Writing and Grammar

This section had internal choice for every question and the type of questions asked included

1) Writing an Article/Descriptive Paragraph (person/place/event/diary entry) in about 100-150 words based on visual or verbal cue/s. The questions were thematically based on the prescribed books - 8 marks

2) Writing a short story based on a given outline or cue/s in about 150-200 words - 10 marks

3) Questions from Grammar syllabus

Gap filling with one or two words to test Prepositions, Articles, Conjunctions and Tenses - 4 marks

Editing or omission - 4 marks

Sentences reordering or sentence transformation in context - 4 marks

Section C - Literature Textbooks

This section had internal choice for every question and the type of questions asked included

1) One out of two extracts from prose/poetry/play for reference to the context. Four Objective Type Questions: two questions of one mark each on global comprehension and two questions of one mark each on interpretation - (1x4=4 marks)

2) Five Short Answer Type Questions from BEEHIVE AND MOMENTS (3 questions out of four from BEEHIVE and 2 questions out of three from MOMENTS) to test local and global comprehension of theme and ideas (to be answered in 30-40 words each) - (2x5=10 marks)

3) One out two long answer type questions from the book BEEHIVE to assess creativity, imagination and extrapolation beyond the text and across the texts. (to be answered in 100-150 words each) - 8 marks

4) One out of two Long Answer Questions from the book MOMENTS on theme or plot involving interpretation, extrapolation beyond the text and inference or character sketch in about (100-150 words) - 8 marks

Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Measure mental illness through IQ levels, says CBSE

  

UPDATED: FEBRUARY 21, 2020 03:46 IST

BY: PRISCILLA JEBARAJ | NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

Disability activists say many students with mental illness may have high IQ scores

A circular issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education on the eve of the Class 10 and 12 board examinations has asked for students with mental illnesses to provide medical certificates using their IQ scores to measure their disability level, in order to avail concessions in the examinations.

Disability activists and psychologists have pointed out that this is an inaccurate way to evaluate mental illness and also does not comply with the guidelines of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

“It is archaic to use IQ levels to measure even intellectual disability,” pointed out Vaishnavi Jayakumar, a member of the Disability Rights Alliance who has written to the CBSE asking for the February 14 circular to be corrected. “But many people with mental illness don’t have intellectual disabilities at all. You can have high IQ levels and still have serious psychosocial disabilities,” she added.

“There is a lot of confusion and panic among students and parents, especially as this has come at the last minute before examinations,” said Seema Lal, a Kochi-based psychologist. and co-founder of Together We Can., an advocacy group for parents and children with disabilities. “Clinical depression, personality disorders, specific learning disorders, autism — many of these will not show low IQ score, but children may still require examination support of various kinds,” said Seema Lal, a Kochi-based psychologist. She also noted that emotional and social skills and adaptive behaviour also needed to be taken into account.

When contacted, CBSE Controller of Examinations Sanyam Bhardwaj told The Hindu that the circular had been issued the day before examinations began because the Board had received a number of last minute requests from parents and students claiming learning disabilities, and demanding concessions.

“To avoid misuse of the concessions, we wanted to ensure that they give us certificates with the specific levels of disabilities, as stipulated by the Gazette notification issued by the Social Justice Ministry. Otherwise, there is a rush of people coming last minute with incomplete certificates claiming their child has dyslexia and demanding extra time,” said Dr. Bhardwaj. Regarding the use of IQ scores to evaluate mental illness, he admitted that the CBSE circular quoted only partially and selectively from the notified guidelines for disability evaluation, and clarified that the CBSE would be subject to the full guidelines.

The guidelines define mental illness as “a substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behaviour, capacity to recognise reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life, but does not include retardation which is a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind of a person, specially characterised by subnormality of intelligence.”

It recommends clinical assessment as well as the administration of the Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale (IDEAS) to evaluate the disability. Only in cases where there is suspicion of intellectual deficits, standardised IQ tests may be administered, says the Act’s guidelines.

“Erroneously... leaving out the IDEAS element would negate the availability of reasonable accommodation to candidates living with psychosocial disability,” Ms. Jayakumar wrote in her letter to the CBSE.

Although Dr. Bhardwaj referred to students with dyslexia and other learning disorders, the CBSE circular only refers to intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses, leading to confusion among those with specific learning disorders.

Ashi Sachin, mother of a 15-year old with dysgraphia, says the circular has led to her son’s CBSE school demanding specific certification. “He has been diagnosed with dysgraphia and needs extra time to write the examination, as well as concessions with regards to internal marking for class notes and record books. I have the psychologist’s report, but now the school is not sure if they can give the concessions without a certificate on the specific level of disability,” says Ms. Sachin, who did not wish to name her son or his school. “His IQ score fluctuates around 100, but he still needs help,” she added, noting that several CBSE principals planned to raise the issue with the Board.

“There are issues with quantifying the level of disability in the case of learning disorders, and there is a problem with conflating such disorders with intellectual disability and mental illness. We are also writing to the CBSE about the problem,” said Muralidharan Vishwanath, general secretary of the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled.

Source : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/measure-mental-illness-through-iq-levels-says-cbse/article30873530.ece

CBSE Class 12 boards 2020: 

Last minute subject-wise expert advice for science students

With less than 2 weeks to go before the CBSE Class 12 Board Exam begins, students from science background (i.e. PCM group) are now gearing up for it.

EDUCATION | Partha Halder | Feb 13, 2020

  

With less than 2 weeks to go before the CBSE Class XII Board Exam begins, students from science background (i.e. PCM group) are now gearing up for it. Majority of them would have appeared in JEE Main 2020 (in January) and now their focus is to maximize their performance in the board exam.

Here are few tips to help them tide over the next few weeks:

* Understand the syllabus and make proper study plan: Assess the weight-age of different sections to decide the time to be devoted for revision. Practicing questions of 5 or 6 marks will certainly help.

* Set Daily Target for studies: Set a daily target for studies, keep a note of it to strengthen your resolve.

* Prepare revision notes: Make separate notebooks for theorems, formulae and methodologies. This will help you to read and quickly brush up the concepts.

* Practice questions by yourself: Try to solve the questions by yourself in the 1 st attempt. If you are unable to do it, then refer to the solution or discuss it with your teacher.

* Practice Full length Question Paper: It is a good way to mentally prepare and get exam ready. The more you practice and solve question papers the more confident you become.

* Address your problem areas: Address your doubts the moment you encounter it, do not procrastinate.

* Analyze your mistakes: It’s extremely crucial to spot and analyze mistakes if you do not want to repeat it in the actual exam.

Subject-wise tips

MATHEMATICS

The new pattern introduced this year will comprise 80 marks for written exam and 20 marks for practical. There will be 36 questions divided into 4 sections carrying 1, 2, 4 and 6 marks respectively. A systematic learning is essential for Mathematics.

* Follow NCERT books for building micro concepts of chapters. Practice solved examples and exercises.

* Many a times questions asked are not the most expected ones. Hence cover the whole syllabus.

* Devote more efforts on topics that you think you are weak and/or topics that you think are less interesting.

* Solve and practice previous years question papers and also mock tests.

* The most important topic where you can score is Calculus (weightage 35 marks). Focus on continuity and differentiability, logarithmic differentiation, high order derivative, increasing and decreasing functions, maxima and minima word problems, integration, area, differential equation

* Algebra (Matrices and Determinants), 10 marks.

* Relation and Function and Inverse trigonometric function (8 marks)

* Vectors and three dimensional geometry ( 2 - 4 marks)

* Linear programming has a weightage of 4-6 marks.

CHEMISTRY

* It is important to practice multiple choice questions and very short answer questions from NCERT exempler.

* In Physical Chemistry, there will be numerical based questions, so write important formulae of each chapter and practice enough numerical.

* While Attempting numericals:

o Write formulae used.

o Substitute the values

o Calculate and write final answer with units.

* Attempt old board question papers and attempt mock tests within fixed time limit.

Organic Chemistry

* This is a scoring section but requires systematic revision. Typically the type of questions asked are :

* Conceptual questions (reasoning based)

* Conversions/Word Problem

* Name Reactions

* Distinction Test

* Mechanism of reaction (as per NCERT)

* A lot of practice is needed so try to solve as many questions as you can on a daily basis.

* Don’t just read; write the solution yourself several times to develop that flow and gain speed and

accuracy. Remember, balancing of reaction is not needed.

* Most of the students ignore and/or do not revise certain chapters like Polymers, Bio-molecular and

Chemistry in everyday life. But these chapters collectively carry a weightage of 10 marks and hence

one must devote some time to revise them.

Inorganic Chemistry

* In this section, questions that asked are based on:

* Reasoning

* Structure

* Complete the reaction

* p-block elements : Write all important reactions in a sheet and revise them on a regular basis.

* d- and f- block elements : Revise and practice reasoning based questions; revise preparation

structure and properties of compounds like KMnO 4 and K 2 Cr 2 O 7

* Coordination Compound : It’s an important chapter as different types of questions are asked.

* Metallurgy : A wide variety of questions are asked hence revise thoroughly.

* Attempt old board questions papers and attempt Mock test papers within a fixed time limit. This will help to develop exam temperament, flow and speed. Follow it up with few mock test papers just before the exam.

Physics

* Sufficient time must be devoted to revise lengthy chapters viz Electrostatics and Optics.

* Practice few subjective questions like those based on Cyclotron, Magnetometer and other similar apparatus.

* Do not neglect small chapters like Alternating Current.

* You will have to be thorough with the following chapters :

* Magnetic properties of materials

* Semi-conductor

* Diffraction

* Polarization

* Optical Instrument

* Electromagnetic Wave and Communication System

* While solving numerical type problems, draw diagrams and label different parts appropriately, ensure

that you are putting correct values and units.

* The language for definitions should be original, altering them must be avoided.

(Author Partha Halder is Centre Head of FIITJEE Punjabi Bagh Centre. Views expressed here are personal.)

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com