145;Why are schools weeding out Class X students?146;

A group of activists, under an umbrella group called the Concerned Citizens Committee, last week dashed off letters to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi...

A group of activists, under an umbrella group called the Concerned Citizens Committee, last week dashed off letters to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh and CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly, complaining about the 8220;reprehensible practices8217;8217; of some well-known CBSE schools in Chennai and other parts of the state.

In the representation, the Committee accused some CBSE schools in the state, although without mentioning names, of 8220;weeding out8217;8217; Xth standard students, who did not obtain the prescribed cut-off marks. 8220;Doing so has been deemed to be illegal by the Supreme Court. Such practices have been causing emotional trauma and mental stress to students, and in a few cases, pushing them to attempt suicide,8221; said the letter signed by representatives of the Committee including leading educationist Dr Anandalakshmy and well-known psychiatrist Dr Vijay Nagaswamy.

Such policies and actions are clearly very 8220;student unfriendly8217;8217; and go against the proclaimed policy of the CBSE, said the Committee. It went on to point out that 8220;the pernicious practice of student shopping was not only morally reprehensible, unethical and repugnant but also illegal.8217;8217;

The Supreme Court in the case of Principal of Cambridge School Vs Payal Gupta had held that any school denying admission to its own students from Class X to XI was illegal. In this case, the Delhi-based school had prescribed a cut-off level of 50 per cent marks for admissions to Class XI. A student who had passed Class X scoring 44.6 per cent had challenged the denial of admission.

V Suresh of the PUCL, also a member of the Concerned Citizens Committee, said, 8220;This is resulting in a considerable number of students being denied admission to Class XI in their own schools, compelling them to seek admission elsewhere.8217;8217;