CBSE students outshine Kerala syllabus peers in KEAM; Parents cry foul over unfair assesment

Pathanamthitta: A look at the rank list of the Kerala Engineering Entrance Examination gives one the impression that the higher secondary students of the Kerala syllabus have failed to notch up top positions in it as CBSE students have outscored the Kerala students. The parents of students have come out, alleging that unfair treatment was meted out to the students of the Kerala syllabus, as the process of assessing marks while ascertaining total marks is unfair. 

According to reports, the addition of marks from the plus two examinations caused the students who had higher entrance marks to fall behind. Even those students who got 360 out of 360 in physics, chemistry, and mathematics were pushed behind. The reason cited for this dismal show is the unscientific and unjustifiable calculation of the marks of Kerala students compared with those of CBSE students.

Tough deal for students of Kerala syllabus 

The entrance ranking criteria combine scores from both the entrance test and the plus two examinations, totaling 600 marks. This would be later converted to a percentile score of 100 marks. But, while adjusting the marks of students of Kerala syllabus 27 marks would be deducted pushing them to a disadvantageous position. This is being done so that it is assumed that the students of Kerala syllabus would get easy marks compared to other students. According to this, when a student of CBSE syllabus would get 300 marks out of 300, a student from the Kerala syllabus would get only 273 marks. 

It is like admitting the lack of quality of state syllabus 

Out of the total students appearing for the entrance examination, 70% of students are from the Kerala syllabus. Of the remaining students, 27% are from CBSE, 2% are from ICE and 1% are from other states. But, when the rank list comes out, it is the CBSE students who will get the top spots. Deducting the marks of students of Kerala syllabus in the entrance examination conducted by the state government is like admitting the lack of quality of Kerala’s own syllabus, points out parents of students of Kerala syllabus. 

In response to these concerns, there have been calls for a review of the marking methodology to ensure fairness and equity for all students, regardless of their educational background.