CBSE Results 2020: Officials share roadmap on evaluation, remaining exams, 10th 12th syllabus for new sessionEducation

By: Kanika Khurana Kanika Khurana Updated Apr 24, 2020 | 13:25 IST

CBSE Board Exam Dates, Results and Syllabus for new session were a few things discussed in a recent interaction with over 100 principals and CBSE officials. Check out key highlights on CBSE's roadmap as shared.

In a web meeting with over 100 school principals and educators, Central Board of Secondary Education - CBSE’s Controller of Examination, Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj shared the board’s roadmap for resuming evaluation work, conducting the remaining examinations as well as the plan for class 10th 12th syllabus for new academic session. Excerpts from the meeting are listed below.

CBSE Board Examination 2020 and Results thereof have been deferred by over a month now. With extended lockdown, the board has had to further defer its plan of conducting the remaining board examinations in April. Reduced academic session has also prompted CBSE to start working on a reduced syllabus for the new academic session for Classes 10 and 12.

Key highlights of the meeting as shared by one the the members in attendance are listed below. Parents may please note that the board is expected to release the official notification regarding the changes. These are proposals that were discussed with the Principals and educators of various schools, and are only indicative but not absolute.

CBSE Board Exams & Results 2020 Roadmap: Key Highlights On Remaining Exams, Evaluation process and Results

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Speaking on the most pressing matter, Dr. Bhardwaj mentioned that the board is planning to resume the evaluation work within 4 days of removal of the lockdowns. The board is considering the feasibility of work from home for the evaluators. This, however, has not been finalized as yet.

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As for the evaluation work, the board would be changing the process and involving all head examiners as well as the assistant head examiners in the evaluation work. This would further hasten the process of evaluation and help in timely results.

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As for the pending examinations, officials stated that the examination dates would be shared once approved by the Ministry of Human Resource Development based on the situation. The 29 examinations, officials shared, would be conducted. CBSE may, he added, conduct the exams even on a Sunday to accommodate for the lost time.

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CBSE would be finalizing the revaluation policies and may also use the statistical tools as detailed in byelaws for promotions, if required.

On Syllabus, attendance and evaluation in the new academic session

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Dr. Bhardwaj has clarified that the board would not be deleting any chapters. Instead, chunks of the existing chapters would be removed to reduce the syllabus for Classes 9 to 12. The same is being worked upon by NCERT and would be conveyed to the schools soon

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CBSE is also considering introduction of a continuous evaluation like MCQs, school based examination for academic year 2020-21. (A notice hinting the same was shared with schools by CBSE, wherein the board has asked teachers to focus on the new evaluation pattern and learning outcomes).

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CBSE has also asked schools to monitor the attendance of their students and is contemplating making 75% attendance mandatory for online classes. These would be considered for the board examinations 2020-21.

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For online classes, CBSE has advised the schools to use the government portals for mass teaching. Portals like Diksha as well as various broadcast channels are widely available for mass learning.

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Also, for classes 11 and 12, CBSE’s new mathematics subject, Applied Maths has started. The subject is applicable for Commerce, Humanities and PCB students who do not wish to pursue technical courses after their 12th.

Apart from these broad points, the CBSE official also spoke about the importance of encouraging students to aim on maximum outcomes. Teachers should also try and devise online classes in a manner that suits both parents and students.

As for the syllabus for classes 1 to 8, the board asked schools to reduce the same if they so required. More details would be made available on the websites. Addressing the concerns of principals regarding affiliation of schools, CBSE instructed schools to write to the board for extension of the affiliation to the Secretary and request for extension till June 30, 2020.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com

CTET topic-wise preparation tips for July 2020 exam

TOI-Online | Apr 24, 2020, 08.27 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Delhi will conduct the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) test on Sunday, July 5, 2020 for both papers - Paper I and Paper II.

The Covid-19 Pandemic lockdown is still going on in the country and the same will continue till May 3, 2020, there are no chances of CBSE deferring the CTET July exams.

The All questions in CTET will be Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), with four alternatives out of which one answer will be most appropriate. Each carrying one mark and there will be no negative marking.

There will be two papers of CTET

(i) Paper I will be for the candidate who intents to be a teacher for classes I to V.

(ii) Paper II will be for the candidate who wants to be a teacher for classes VI to VIII.

If a candidate wants to be a teacher for both levels (classes I to V and classes VI to VIII) he/she will have to appear in both the papers (Paper I and Paper II).

Paper I (for Classes I to V) Primary Stage; Duration of examination-Two-and-a-half hours Structure and Content (All Compulsory):

S. No.	Subject	Question Type	Marks
1	Child Development and Pedagogy	30 MCQs	30 Marks
2	Language I (compulsory)	30 MCQs	30 Marks
3	Language II (compulsory)	30 MCQs	30 Marks
4	Mathematics	30 MCQs	30 Marks
5	Environmental Studies	30 MCQs	30 Marks
	Total	150 MCQs	150 Marks

Paper II (for Classes VI to VIII) Elementary Stage; Duration of examination - Two-and-a-half hours

Structure and Content (All Compulsory)

S. No.	Subject	Question Type	Marks
1	Child Development & Pedagogy (compulsory)	30 MCQs	30 Marks
2	Language I (compulsory)	30 MCQs	30 Marks
3	Language II (compulsory)	30 MCQs	30 Marks
4	Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics and Science teacher) OR	60 MCQs	60 Marks
5	Social Studies/Social Science (for Social Studies/ Social Science teacher)	60 MCQs	60 Marks
	Total	150 MCQs	150 Marks

For any other teacher - either (4) or (5)

How to prepare for CTET July 2020

Child Development and Pedagogy: The questions in this section will be asked on educational psychology of teaching and learning relevant to the age group of 6-11 years (for Paper I) and 11-14 (for Paper-II). The focus will be on understanding the characteristics and needs of diverse learners, interaction with learners and the attributes and qualities of a good facilitator of learning.

Important topics on Child Development and Pedagogy: CD and its relation to learning, Pedagogy Issues, Cognition & Emotions, Motivation and learning, Questions Related to Education Act, Socialisation processes, Influence of Heredity & Environment, Concept of Inclusive Education, Individual differences, Specially-abled Learners, Assessment and Evaluation, Questions Related to Theories, Processes of teaching and learning, Practical Questions and etc.

Language I: The questions in language I will focus on the proficiencies related to the medium of instruction.

Language II: A candidate may choose any one language as Language I and other as Language II from the available language options. Language II will be a language other than Language I. The questions in language II will focus on the elements of language, communication and comprehension abilities.

Mathematics and Environmental Studies (Paper-I): The questions will focus on the concepts, problem solving abilities and pedagogical understanding and applications of the subjects.

In all these subject areas, the test items will be evenly distributed over different divisions of the syllabus of that subject prescribed for classes I-V by the NCERT.

Mathematics and Science, and Social Studies/Social Science (Paper-II): The questions will focus on the concepts, problem solving abilities and pedagogical understanding and applications of the subjects.

The test items of Mathematics and Science will be of 30 marks each. The test items will be evenly distributed over different divisions of the syllabus of that subject as prescribed for classes VI-Vlll by the NCERT.

The questions in the test for Paper II will be based on the topics prescribed in syllabus of the NCERT for classes VI - VIII but their difficulty standard as well as linkages, could be up to the Senior Secondary stage.

Schedule of CTET - July, 2020

(The Paper-l will be held in the morning session and Paper-II in the evening session)

Date	Day	Paper	Timing	Duration
05-07-20	Sunday	Paper-I	09.30 AM to 12.00 Noon	2.30 Hours
05-07-20	Sunday	Paper-II	02.00 PM to 04.30 PM	2.30 Hours

Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Career opportunities after CA

By : TOI-Online | Apr 23, 2020, 07.59 AM IST

   

NEW DELHI: People say a Chartered Accountant (CA) is an institution in itself. After completing your CA, you are not only qualified to get a decent job for yourself but also you become a job giver. And the choice is always yours what you want to become. 

After clearing CA Final exams you become a member of Institute of Chartered Accountants in India (ICAI). Now you can use the CA prefix in your name. As you are a chartered accountant, you have almost all the choice on earth when it comes to a choice for a job. Remember there is not a single company or industry where CAs are not required.

Basically there are three types of opportunities you can explore a) Practice CA, b) Entrepreneurship or c) Join any CA firm.

If you wish to do practice as a CA you can do the followings 

Doing practice as an individual or as sole proprietor is an outdated concept these days, because of intense competition, pressure from clients. Hence it is advisable to start a partnership firm with a minimum four chartered accountants. You can also start a LLP firm in accordance with LLP act 2008. 

Chartered Accountants can enter into practice with 

Company Secretary in Practice

Chartered Accountant in Practice

Cost Accountant in Practice

Architect professional

Advocate as defined by Bar Council of India

Engineer (Chartered)

Actuary Professional

Starting consultancy firm/becoming partner of big audit

Owning or partnering in a big audit firm is a challenging task. In order to become a partner in an audit firm you need to start as an employee in that firm. Gradually you will attain various positions in the firm like from manager to senior manager to associate director and thereafter become partner.

Job in a CA firm

A Chartered Accountant can pursue career in following firms:

1) Internal Auditing

 2) Tax Auditing

 3) Forensic Auditing

 4) Career in Accounting and Finance

 5) Taxation Advisory (Both Direct and Indirect)

 6) Statutory Audit under applicable statutes

 7) Managing Treasury function

 8) Others like Bookkeeping, Finance Controller, Preparation of financials of companies, etc.

Work as a teacher

One can also do a part-time teaching if he/she is working in an institute and the firm allows him/her to work as a teacher. 

How to become a CA

After passing 12th class, you need to enroll yourself for CA foundation course through any institute approved by ICAI. After completing the foundation course, you will be promoted to CA Intermediate course.

There in the intermediate you have to clear examination of two groups (Group 1 and Group 2) having four subjects each. Only by clearing any group, you will be eligible for the CA Articleship, but before awarding the articleship you must have cleared both the groups.

After clearing the Group exams, you will be eligible for CA Articleship and then you need to clear the CA Final examination. After that ICAI will award you a degree and you will be eligible to use CA as a suffix to your name. In minimum five years you can be a Chartered Accountant.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/career-opportunities-after-ca/articleshowprint/75310500.cms

JEE Main, NEET, CLAT; check revised dates of these entrance exams as lockdown extended

By: Education Desk | New Delhi | Updated: April 24, 2020

As the lockdown has been extended, the candidates who are appearing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET 2020) are quite worried about whether the engineering, medical entrance exams will be conducted. The HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal in a recent interview with the Indian Express said that the entrance examination will be held in June.

“The HRD Ministry is consulting stakeholders like the boards of examinations, IITs, and other agencies involved in logistical operations of JEE and NEET before announcing the next dates. To assess the possibility of conduction of online exams for higher education, the HRD ministry has constituted a task force under UGC,” Nishank said.

As COVID-19 lockdown extended, check status of various entrance exams

NEET: The medical entrance examination- National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2020 is also expected to be conducted in June, which was earlier scheduled on May 3. The NEET admit card is expected to be released by May-end.

Read| Lack of regional language content, infrastructure: Online education double trouble for hinterlands

CLAT: The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2020 has been postponed again, and will be conducted on June 21. Earlier, the exam was scheduled to be conducted on May 10, it was then postponed to May 24.

The registration process will remain open till May 18 and those who have not yet applied for the exam can do so at the official website consortiumofnlus.ac.in.

JEE Advanced: After deferring the exam date of JEE Main, now the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Delhi) has postponed the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Advanced 2020) to be conducted on May 17, 2020.

UGC NET, CSIR NET, JNUEE: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has extended the application deadline of various competitive examinations, following the directions from Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD).

The online application process of admission to Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Exam (JNUEE) was to close on March 31, but it has been extended by a month till April 30. The application process for UGC NET, CSIR NET, NCHM JEE, and all other national entrance examination was extended by a month from their scheduled dates of closure.

AP EAMCET: The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) has postponed the AP EAMCET – entrance exam for admission to engineering, agriculture and medical courses in the state-based colleges. The exam was scheduled to be held in May first week which stands postponed till further notice.

GUJCET: The Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET) was rescheduled due to lockdown. The entrance test dates will be announced after the lockdown gets over on May 3.

KEAM: The Kerala Engineering, Architecture and Medical entrance examinations (KEAM 2020) was postponed due to lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic. The entrance examinations are scheduled to be conducted on April 20 and 21, 2020.

MHT-CET: The State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell, Maharashtra has postponed the dates of MHT-CET 2020, which was scheduled from April 13, 2020. “MHT-CET 2020, which was scheduled from April 13 to 23, 2020 has been postponed till further orders. This is being clarified in the interest of the candidates who have registered for MHT-CET 2020,” the notification mentioned.

BITSAT: The application process for the BITSAT (Birla Institute of Technology and Science Admission Test) has been extended due to lockdown. Interested candidates can apply through the website- bitsadmission.com. The candidates can download the hall tickets from April 30 to May 18, 2020. The dates of the examination will be released later.

Source: https://indianexpress.com

CBSE, State Board Exams 2020: Till when can the exams remain postponed? As lockdown extends, experts worry Education

By : Kanika Khurana Kanika Khurana Updated Apr 22, 2020 | 21:33 IST

CBSE Board Exams 2020 for Classes 10th and 12th, along with many State Boards have been postponed with no likelihood of quick dates. Experts reason that the exams cannot be indefinitely postponed.

Delayed, deferred till further notice – these words have left millions of students in India uncertain about their futures. As Coronavirus spread in the country, many state boards as well as Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) postponed their on-going board examinations. New dates shifted from April to May and now the grim possibility of a further delay looms large. As news of possible exam cancellation worries parents, experts mull for how long can CBSE actually postpone the examinations?

There are many aspects to the board examinations. For higher secondary or Class 12, the board examinations are extremely important as they decide the choice of subjects, colleges and the students’ very future. Even for competitive examinations, the qualifying marks are important. As such, with a few papers delayed, many students are left wondering what next.

“Let’s be very realistic. Almost all the students from Delhi NCR are studying in CBSE affiliated schools. Given the current situation in Delhi and the nearby regions, it is nearly impossible for CBSE to organize the board exams. With about 10 days left for the second lockdown to end, the rate of new cases must stop in the next 2 days. Only with no new case for 7 days can the city be re-opened. While we don’t know yet, it can be safely said that organizing board exams in Delhi, at least, is ruled out till mid-May!” reasoned Mrs. Rai, a senior academician and head of a famous school.

“There has to be a rationale. Cancelling the exams is not an option but how long can we keep postponing the examination? Board Exams are pushing the competitive exams which are then pushing the admission process to universities and institutes. There has to be a cut off date!” she said.

But what is the cut-off date? Would June 15 be a reasonable date to wait or would the boards be willing to defer the exams till July?

“That’s a tricky answer to give. We have to understand that pushing the exams in June would delay the admission cycle by 2 months. Any further delay, and we are talking about truncated semesters.” Shared Mr. Menon. Also Read | CBSE Ganga Quest Quiz 2020: Second edition of Ganga Quest begins- Here is how to register on gangaquest.com

So what is the solution? “CBSE and other state boards need to think of alternative modes of evaluation. Maybe an online examination for the remaining subjects or perhaps a rationalized scheme of best of four papers. Either ways, the present situation requires out of the box thinking. Striking the balance is extremely important. Many of us have already shared our recommendations with the board and we are sure to get some answer soon!”

As for postponed board examinations and the dates, CBSE officials have confirmed that there was no plan to cancel the examination. Though rumours have started to go around various social media channels, the board has reassured the students that the main examinations have been deferred and not cancelled.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/

State govts to decide on early summer vacations to maintain academic calendar

India Today Web Desk | New Delhi | April 22, 2020

Many schools that were closed due to lockdown are thinking of starting summer vacation early this year to keep up with the academic calendar. The announcement for the same will not be done by CBSE or Ministry of Human Resource Development. This is a regional matter and only State Governments can take a call on when to start the school summer vacations.

Parents have reached to CBSE and MHRD to seek information regarding the summer vacations in school. Officials have confirmed that all schools will be required to follow the instructions of the State Governments in regards to the holidays. This applies to all the CBSE schools as well.

NCERT started revising the syllabus

In the last update, MHRD and CBSE officials have confirmed that NCERT is already revising the current academic year’s syllabus to accommodate for the lost time. On the other hand, online classes have initiated all over the country to keep up with the studies.

Difficulties in online classes

MHRD and state departments are aware of the practical difficulties. Experts have also agreed that the lost time would make it difficult to manage the entire syllabus, even as the situation remains in flux.

As of now, only Punjab has preponed the summer vacations for the schools. Apart from that, Rajasthan University and Mumbai University have also declared summer vacations. No order for schools has been given out as yet.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/

From Swayam to Diksha: Are govt learning portals enough for aspiring India?

Take a look at some of the initiatives taken by the government to strengthen the education system.

India Today Web Desk | New Delhi | April 22, 2020

From SWAYAM to Diksha portal, 5 initiatives taken by the government to strengthen India's education sector ( Image source: diksha.gov.in)

From SWAYAM to Diksha portal, 5 initiatives taken by the government to strengthen India's education sector ( Image source: diksha.gov.in)

During the yesteryears, India has taken a slew of measures to improve the quality of education. It is building relevant capacities, enhancing the pedagogical training across institutions, spearheading national and international collaborations. This is over and above introducing a more effective, comprehensive, and pertinent curriculum for students. Apparently, the nation is taking all the right steps on the education front.

So, let us have a look at some of them:

1. Institutes of Eminence (IoE):

Despite being the home to the world's second-largest population and as the fifth-largest economy, only 6 Indian institutions are ranked under 500 in 'The World University Ranking'. Further, no Indian institute emerges in the below-300 segment. In order to change this scenario, the Government of India launched IoE scheme back in 2016. It was followed by setting up of guidelines and regulation alongside a high-powered EEC (Empowered Expert Committee). The vision is to support 10 public and private institutes with superior autonomy (both administratively and academically) to boost quality teaching, research, and global ratings. To date, 16 out 20 Institutes of Eminence have been recognised by the UGC.

2. DIKSHA Portal:

The Indian Government is further empowering teachers with digital technology. In 2017, it launched DIKSHA portal to serve as a dedicated national digital infrastructure for teachers. The platform will enable teachers to create training content, in-class resources, profiles, assessment aids, and connect with other teachers more seamlessly. The DIKSHA portal can be used by both public and private institutions as per their unique goals, needs, and capabilities required for teacher training.

3. Study Webs of Active learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM):

Launched in 2014, SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active learning for Young Aspiring Minds) envisions extending best-quality education to over 3 crore students in India. The platform has been developed by the Ministry of HRD in collaboration with IIT Madras, NPTEL, and Google. It includes various training courses by AICTE, UGC, NCERT, NPTEL, CEC, IGNOU, NIOS, NITTTR, and IIM-Bombay. All training courses are free of cost on SWAYAM. The reach of SWAYAM further gets amplified via 32 SWAYAM Prabha DTH channels, especially amongst less-digitized regions.

4. Rashtriya Aavishkar Abhiyan:

Another good initiative taken by government has been Rashtriya Aavishkar Aabhiyan. The initiative was launched back in 2015 to promote innovation excellence in science, mathematics, and technology within the age group of 6 to 18 years. It intends to achieve the overarching objectives via observation, experimentation, inference drawing, model building, rational reasoning, etc. The mission holds higher value considering the importance of these fields in our ever-growing digital infrastructure and advanced science.

5. AIIMS and IIT

Apart from Institutes of Eminence, India has simultaneously built capacity of its premier institutes like IIT and AIIMS alongside others. Since 2014, 13 new AIIMS have been announced by the government out of which, 7 have been established to date. The nation has also seen induction of 6 new IITs, increasing their overall tally to 23.

Are these measures enough?

They are surely satisfactory considering the sheer extent of the country. However, the global scenario is changing at a very rapid pace. Advanced economies have deployed modern training solutions and techniques such as smart classrooms since quite some time now and are generating positive results. This is when the quality of education continues to be a key challenge within the country. The nation has taken positive measures like Right to Education to make education more inclusive. Still such initiatives have faced challenges of their own as there is no effective measure to gauge the ability of teachers and their training, especially amongst remote regions.

Today, the nation needs to go beyond conventional measures. It needs to ensure that the technological interventions in education are fast-tracked and made more thorough. Perhaps, a good way to do it is by targeting the most critical block of this development, i.e. teachers. Advanced surveillance-driven solutions can be integrated, particularly within schools in remote regions and colleges in tier II and III cities, to achieve a higher educational quality. The government must also consider including app-based interfaces to track the progress of students.

This might further pave the way for transference of enhanced practices between Indian educational institutes. For instance, the respective teachers could enjoy takeaways from teachers at eminent institutes such as IITs, IIMs, and so on by leveraging these surveillance-based solutions. It will naturally improve their pedagogical training and hence, the quality of education.

These measures will turn out to be the next logical step in India's educational journey. It's high time we make our education system more advanced, thereby utilising our large base of youth effectively. Otherwise, it might get too late and India will be staring at a lost opportunity.

Article by Abhishek Kumar, Regional Director, Onvu Learning

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in