Karnataka - Bangalore

And now, it is a rush for seats in good colleges

Staff Reporter

Colleges to start issuing application forms from today; institutions to go by schedule

D-DAY ARRIVES: Anxious students accompanied by their parents looking for their SSLC results at the office of the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE: Pre-university colleges in Bangalore are all set to start issuing application forms for admission to 1st year PU from Wednesday, a day after announcement of the results of the SSLC examination. A few city colleges had started the process a day in advance.

In the midst of celebrations over high scores and pondering over low scores, students have no choice but to join the rush to secure a seat in a good college.

Most colleges contacted by The Hindu preferred to wait till Wednesday before letting out the details of their admission process and the cut-off marks. But they were sure to go strictly by the admission schedule circulated by the Pre-University Department.

The application forms are likely to cost between Rs. 20 and Rs. 150 depending on the college. Every year, the top pre-university colleges in the city receive thousands of applications for the few hundred seats available. The variety of subject combinations available presents the students a wide choice.

Freedom to choose

Pressure from parents to choose a particular combination is apparently not a major concern for students. Ravi Shankar, father of a student who has passed the SSLC examination, said: "My daughter has done well in the exam and plans to do Diploma in Computer Science. I'm happy with her choice."

While some students aspired to pursue careers in conventional fields such as medicine and engineering, others preferred animation, computer graphics and mass communication.

On Tuesday, however, the SSLC results were foremost in the students' minds. They gathered at their schools at 2 p.m. Students also got their results from websites and from a special service offered by cellphone companies.

Varsha B.R., a student at Carmel Convent High School, said she is happy that she has scored as she expected. She plans to take Science in Vijaya College.

Some students were unhappy at the way the Kannada paper was set and the answer papers were evaluated.

Nakul, a student at Stracy Memorial High School, said he had dreaded the exam and was glad when it as over. He proposes to pursue Science.

Umesh, a mathematics teacher in the same school, said the institution has recorded a pass percentage of 90. Last year's results were better, he added.

Vivek, a Christ School student, felt he could have done better. But his father was happy with his marks. Vivek said he wants to join a course in arts in a leading institution.

Revaluation

May 2 is the last date to submit applications for retotalling for all subjects with the prescribed fees (Rs. 50) and for photocopies of answer books (Mathematics, General Science and Social Studies answer books only). The fee for photocopies is Rs. 150 a subject. For revaluation in core subjects, students should apply within five days after receiving photocopies of answer books.

The revaluation fee is Rs. 450. Students can apply for revaluation only after getting photocopies of answer books. All applications should be sent directly to the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board, Malleswaram, Bangalore.

Cases of malpractice

As many as 595 students were debarred for examination malpractice.

Of them, 102 were from Davangere district, 82 from Raichur, 65 from Dharwad, 62 from Kolar, 37 from Gulbarga, 29 from Bijapur, 26 from Bagalkot, 22 from Chickballapur and 20 from Bellary.

This year's supplementary examination will be held from June 1 to 8. The last date for fee payment is May 5, and the deadline for receipt of applications is May 12.

New system

The March 2006 annual examination will commence on March 15 under a new system, where 60 per cent of questions will be of the multiple-choice objective type. Failed students under the current scheme will be given four attempts till 2007, beyond which there will be only one scheme. The board will provide the blue prints of the 2006 examination to all schools in June. ICR (intelligent character recognition) forms will be introduced for registration of students for examinations and teachers for valuation from next year.

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