Norms by the Maharashtra Government

New norms decided by the Maharashtra government:
1. The state education department in a few months will introduce clauses in the no objection certificate (NOC), required for any non-SSC board school to function in the state, that will make it mandatory for these schools to follow certain rules.
2. The rules include teaching Marathi in primary classes and adhering to the fee structure prescribed by the state regulatory authority.
3. Any school that does not toe the line will not get a No Objection Certificate from the government.
4. The state has not issued the NOC’s to new non-SSC schools so the rules will apply to any new non-SSC schools. For the existing 700 non-SSC schools the state will make it mandatory for them to renew their NOC this year.

Online Admission Procedure: Great help to Students

The Online admission procedure for the SSC and HSC introduced by the government will be of great help to students as well as colleges. Admission was a very lengthy process as we all know. Most people have computers at home so this process will save time and energy. Although the process only seems to be lengthy, but the money that is wasted in taking forms from all the colleges can also be saved. For studying in foreign countries like USA, UK, an online admission procedure was already commonly used. Entrance exams like GRE and TOEFL have online exams. Not only the forms, but the exams and payment for foreign exams are done online. In India too the online admissions will benefit the students, colleges in every aspect.
Procedure of the online admission Test:
· Firstly the student has to give a mock test, mentioning their name, centre no. and other details.
· Secondly your details will be identified and a log-in identity and password will be given to the student.
· Thirdly, the student has to log in the ID; the verified information given by the student will appear with the option of various streams. The student has to pick the desired option and then submit the form with the codes of colleges at the designated centre. Then the board will verify the information and give the student a list of colleges for which he/she eligible. The student can choose among these.
· The student will be provided with an online admission information booklet that will guide them along with mark sheet from the school.
Advantage of Online Admission to Colleges:
· Colleges will also be benefited as machine monitoring will help them work faster.
· The machine will help to update the records instead of manual intervention.
· Managing the students’ crowd will be much simpler and easier and quicker.

NEWS: Times of India

Boards Debate

A detail study of different boards
Introduction: Nowadays school education offers aplenty. In short, education system in India has undergone a sea change for the Indian student as well as parents. There are a no. of educational boards. One may opt as per their individual requirement. A short comparison of different boards has been made along with their positive and negative features. The different educational boards offered are:
1. The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (SSC)
2. The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE)
3. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
4. International General Certificate of Secondary Education IGCSE)
5. International Baccalaureate (IB)

1. The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (SSC):
SSC is the most common and simple curriculum offered nationwide. Although, efforts are being made by the government to update the level of this board.

Advantages:
· The major advantage is that this board is quite simpler, and relatively cheap.
· The board teaches the local language- Marathi.

Disadvantages:
· The teaching methodology is rote-learning oriented. The teachers in SSC schools follow a typical theory based method of teaching.
· There is less of practical exposure as compared to ICSE, IB and IGCSE.

2. The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE)
ICSE is a Delhi based private, non-governmental board of school education in the country.

Advantages:
· The ICSE has a wider outlook as compared to SSC and CBSE and the board is recognised across India.
· The project work and the field trips give a student practical exposure, which makes concepts easier to understand and study.
· All ICSE across the country follow the same syllabus and is a great advantage to students who have a shift base.
· Then Board also offers students the option to choose their subjects. The student may opt for subjects of his choice from class nine.

Disadvantages:
· The school requires students to work for so many projects that most of the times parents end up finishing the projects for kids.
· Parents buy readymade stuff to complete the project work, thus in turn reflects the child’s learning.
· A lot of high studies and portion forces the parents and the children to join coaching classes for various subjects.

3. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
CBSE board prepares the syllabus up to the class 12th level for affiliated schools.

Advantages:
· CBSE board prepares the students for professional courses and prepares the child for competitive exams in future.
· The board also offers the students time and space for extra curricular activities.
· Just like the ICSE, CBSE offers almost the same advantages.

Disadvantages:
· CBSE syllabus is extremely vast. Students are forced to join coaching classes.
· The level of English taught in these schools is not that high as that offered by the ICSE.

4. International General Certificate of Secondary Education IGCSE)
IGCSE is the globally recognised qualification at the class 10th level

Advantages:
· The curriculum is application based. There is no room for rote learning.
· Students are encouraged to take up various extra-curricular activities for their all round development.
· Students are motivated to understand concepts on their own and apply it to the questions in the exam.
· In this board there is no need to solve last year’s papers, and there is no need to join any coaching classes.

Disadvantages:
· The no. of projects are strenuous for the child. Unnecessary projects like classical dancing etc which are not useful.
· The children are marked on non-academic work like; music, art, dances.

5. International Baccalaureate (IB)
The IB board is a non-profit based organization in Geneva. It is a internationally recognised school system.

Advantages:
· The IB board focuses on understanding concepts than just mugging up.
· The IB board encourages students to work in groups rather than involving parents.
· Students are made to learn on the internet and interact with each other in an unrestricted atmosphere. IB Board makes learning enjoyable.

Disadvantages:
· The board gives less importance to national and local languages and focuses more on international education.

NEWS: BOMBAY TIMES