Indian Express 05.10.2010
More deserving students than BMC can reward
sharvaripatwa Tags : BMC, J Shinde Posted: Tue Oct 05 2010, 04:10 hrs
Mumbai: Last year, the BMC introduced a scheme to reward city students with scores of 90 per cent and above in standards X and XII. Since then, the Best-5 format has come into effect and pushed up scores, sending so many students into that bracket that the cash-strapped BMC is struggling.The reward includes a cash prize of Rs 90,000, the rider being that a student’s parents need to have paid property tax on time. Last year was affordable with only 72 students eligible; this year, officials estimate, the number of students who have scored over 90% could have crossed 4,000. Best-5 allows a student to count only the top five subject scores, leaving out the lowest-scoring one.
“This year, calculating the percentage on the basis of Best-5 could be a cause for concern,” said J Shinde, administrative officer, assessment & collection. “Though we have not yet got the comprehensive list of students who will qualify for the cash prize, if the number is extremely high it could be a concern.”
About 13,500 of 16 lakh SSC students had scored over 90 per cent in Mumbai. “There will be many more from the ICSE board with scores over 90 per cent in X and XII. And most of them will be students whose guardians paid property tax on time. If we estimate about 3,000-4,000 students qualify, it will amount to cash prizes of Rs 3-4 crore. We are worried the number could be even larger,” an official said.
Another official said the civic administration might consult its legal department if necessary. “We might have to decide if we need to follow Best-5 or if we can follow the old system for calculating scores if there is any financial difficulty.” The government had introduced Best-5 exclusively for state board students. In July, the Supreme Court gave the option to ICSE students too.
