CBSE higher secondary applicants in Thiruvananthapuram region drops heavily

Nearly 50 per cent of the students who cleared the CBSE class X examinations this year from the newly formed region of Thiruvananthapuram that fared the best among the ten regions CBSE is divided in have applied for admission to state syllabus schools, according to a newspaper daily.

Out of a total of 70,020 students, who cleared the CBSE board examinations in Thiruvananthapuram region, consisting of schools in Kerala and Lakshadweep, making a record pass percentage of 99.96, almost 35,081 students have applied for admission in state syllabus schools in class XI.

The main reason for this is that students score higher marks in state syllabus schools thereby increasing their chances of getting admission to professional colleges. Further, fees in government and aided schools are much lower than in private schools.

In contrast, the number of students from other boards such as ICSE, IB, etc has been actually reducing from 30,547 applications in 2011-12 to 15,809 applicants this academic year.

K. Mohana Kumar, joint director (examination), directorate of higher secondary education, also pointed out that the high quality education in state syllabus schools is one of the reasons for the heavy rate of migration post Matriculation.

However, CBSE school principals claim that the rush to the state board schools is not because of the quality of education but because students score more marks, at least 5 per cent to 10 per cent more in class XII, making it easier for them to get admission to engineering colleges.

The state government mandate that admissions to professional courses will be based on 50 per cent marks scored in science subjects in class 12 and 50 per cent on the basis of marks scored in entrance examination, which have further geared up students to migrate from CBSE affiliated schools to state syllabus schools, students claim.