The government also said that in case there are a large number of applications for a particular stream in Class 11, then admission can be based on the student’s Class 9 marks.
The Tamil Nadu government has taken a u-turn on the decision to hold entrance tests for Class 11 admission, by revoking its earlier decision and cancelling the proposal. The government has also ordered that the number of seats be increased by 10% to 15% in government and government-aided schools. The government said that classes for Class 11 students will be held from the third week of June based on the COVID-19 guidelines prevailing at that time. Schools were told to conduct classes through Kalvi TV for Class 12.
The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday permitted schools to conduct entrance tests for students in Class 11 to put them in different groups, in case there were more applications for a particular stream. The government took the decision since the students were declared all pass without attending the Class 10 exams, due to the prevailing pandemic situation. The schools also did not conduct quarterly or half-yearly exams. In a release, the government had said that the schools could conduct tests based on the relevant syllabus for streams which receive more applications. The tests should be conducted with 50 multiple-choice questions and groups should be allotted based on their marks, the government had said.
The circular added that if there aren’t many applications, then seats can be allotted without the required tests. However, the decision received widespread criticism as educationalists said that the decision was an indirect way of implementing entrance exams. Parents were worried that these tests will lead to further spread of the coronavirus and would pose the same risk as conducting the board exams.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s former Chief Minister and AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam on Thursday urged the state government to cancel the entrance tests for admission to Class 11. In a statement issued in Chennai, Panneerselvam pointed out that the ruling DMK had announced revocation of entrance exams for medical admission but had declared conduct of such exams to admit students to Class 11.
(With inputs from IANS)
Source: The News Minute