The Hindu : Front Page : More State Board students take AIEEE model test

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 30, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

More State Board students take AIEEE model test

Meera Srinivasan

It was organised jointly byThe HinduEducation Plus and AIMS Education

Some students find AIEEE a tough choice. — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI: Over 60 per cent of candidates who wrote a model test for the All-India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) on Sunday were from the State Board, a significant increase in the number compared to last year.

It also showed the growing interest among the State Board students in the AIEEE, an examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) which enables students to enter top-notch professional institutions in the country, including National Institutes of Technology and central universities.

The model test was organised jointly by The Hindu Education Plus and AIMS Education and sponsored by the Jaya Group of Colleges. About 63 per cent of the nearly 4,000 students who wrote the mock test were State Board students.

"Last year, around 2,300 candidates took the test, 30 per cent were from the State Board," said Gita Prabhu, Director, AIMS Education.

Pointer to insecurity

The situation pointed to a sense of insecurity among State Board students, who need not write a Common Entrance Examination this year for professional courses.

"All of us cannot score very high marks in our boards. So our scores may not be enough to get into good engineering colleges, so we have to rely on the AIEEE," says Ashwini Vellapalem, a student of Fathima Matriculation. Bharat. G. Ram of MCTM Higher Secondary School adds: "AIEEE is all the more important this year as we won't be writing TNPCEE."

Some of the State Board students seemed happy about the upgraded XII Standard syllabus in Tamil Nadu. "The new syllabus is challenging. My daughter can now compete with CBSE students [in AIEEE] confidently," says Shoba Nareshkumar, parent of a Class XII student of Holy Angels. However, a few still feel that the AIEEE standards are high for State Board students. "It is based on the thinking syllabus [CBSE], which is difficult for us. I m here to find out where I stand," says Taher Rangwala of St. John's Matric.

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