BHUBANESWAR: Nine of the top 10 scorers in the Science stream of the annual Plus II Science examination are from private schools. Among students who scored 90 per cent and above and found place in the top 20, only two are from Government higher secondary schools.
Needless to say, private higher secondary schools/colleges have put up a solid show in the Annual Higher Secondary Examination (AHSE) - 2020 this year.School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash, however, does not agree. "Performance of government school students has not declined.
Of the 137 students who scored 90 pc and above, more than 70 per cent are from government higher secondary schools," he said. Experts believe inadequate infrastructure, large scale vacancy of faculty members are among a few reasons why Government schools are failing to compete with their private counterparts, in terms of quality.
Two students from Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Higher Secondary School in the city had secured the top two positions last year. However, Nimain Biswaranjan Behera, who secured fourth position with 564 marks, is the only student from the school to be among the top 10 scorers this year.
The pass percentage of BJB Higher Secondary School this year stood at 93.2 per cent. A total 482 out of 517 students cleared the exam successfully with 345 of them securing first division. A senior official from the school said students have performed much better compared to the facilities they are provided.
The school is grappling with faculty shortage. It has one faculty member in Chemistry against the sanctioned strength of six. It also has two faculties in Physics against the strength of seven and in mathematics, there is only one teacher.
Even after separation of Plus II from Plus III, there has been no major recruitment drive to fill the vacancies. In most of the government higher secondary schools, teaching is done by the degree college faculties. That’s not the case with private schools.
Apart from better infrastructure, a strong academic regime, accountability and discipline is maintained though the institutions charge nothing less than a fortune from the parents. "Apart from their curriculum, they are also provided coaching at the same time which makes them better prepared and confident. Since self-financing schools provide better facilities, parents are willing to admit their children in these schools," said a private school teacher.
Adyant’s 14 students score 90 per cent above
BHUBANESWAR: As many as 14 science students of Adyant Higher Secondary School here have scored 90 pc above in Plus II Examinations 2020, results of which were announced by the CHSE on Wednesday. Of 336 students, 78 secured more than 500 marks.
Subrat Chandra Nahak secured 560 marks while Guru Snehi Choudhury scored 556. School chairman Ajay Bahadur Singh congratulated the students for success.