Students face 50/50 chance of being disowned by schools after pre-boards

With the beginning of the new academic session,city schools have made screening for Class XI and Class XII students compulsory.

In order to maintain better results in board classes,schools refrain from giving fresh admissions to those students who do not score at least 50 per cent marks in the pre-board exams. They hand over a ‘School Leaving Certificate’ or ‘Transfer Certificate’ to such students and ask them to look for admissions in some other school.

Sacred Heart School in Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar has reportedly denied Class XI admission in commerce to 20 students for failing to make the cut.

However,the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) says there is no restriction as far as choosing subjects in Class XI is concerned.

Harmeet Kaur,principal,Nankana Sahib School,Gill Road,said,”As per the CBSE,a student can study physics along with Hindi and history or any other combination.” But for their own convenience,schools have created these disciplines.

This arbitrary practice by institutes of learning not only harasses parents but affects the emotional wellbeing of students.

A student seeking admission in Class XI at Sacred Heart School at Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar,said,”The school authorities have denied admission to about 20 students in Class XI Commerce as they couldn’t score 50 per cent in pre-board examinations.” The school has issued a circular to the students stating,”For regular admission to Class XI,a student should have 50 per cent marks in total with 60 per cent in maths and science for non-medical,60 per cent in science for medical and 50 per cent marks in all subjects for commerce in pre-board examinations.”

Disapproving the decision of schools,some parents rue,”Our children have been studying in these schools since kindergarten and they are not being given admission in the stream of their choice. How can a school say no to admission to its own students?” Another parent said,”I have visited three schools for getting my child admitted in commerce,but admissions have been closed there. Now I have pinned my hopes in a rural area school. It’s sheer harassment.”

Sister Sobel,principal,Sacred Heart School in BRS Nagar,said,”In every parent-teacher meeting,we keep telling parents about the poor performance of their children. How can we permit a child to study commerce with less than 50 per cent in pre-boards? Weak students consume a lot of time and it is often because of them that the whole class suffers. Children who did not improve even after warnings by teachers should look for another school now.”

Many schools like Guru Nanak Public,BCM Arya Model School,Kundan Vidya Mandir,Sacred Heart Convent School,DAV Public School too follow the same path.

Paramjit Kaur,Principal,BCM Arya Model School,said,”We have 40 students in each section of Class XI. To maintain this number,we have fixed some criteria. So we screen students with low percentage but along with this we also conduct an aptitude test for students. However,in special cases if a student is good in sports but has a low percentage for a particular discipline,we do not deny admission in the discipline of his/her choice.”

Harmeet Kaur said,”We permit a student to study the subjects of his/her choice in Class XI but if a student fails to do well,we convince him/her to change the discipline after the September exams.”