BENGALURU: With the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) facing widespread evaluation errors in its on-screen marking (OSM) system, class 11 students in Bengaluru are increasingly shifting from CBSE schools to pre-university (PU) colleges. Some students are even leaving without waiting for a fee refund, as trust in the board diminishes.
Growing Distrust in CBSE
Students fear they may not receive fair scores in core subjects like physics, chemistry, and mathematics under the current CBSE evaluation system. This is critical because admissions to professional courses often consider an equal average of CET and II PU or CBSE scores. The uncertainty has prompted many to seek alternatives.
Visible Increase in Board Switches
A teacher in charge of the senior secondary segment at a Bengaluru CBSE school reported that five students withdrew their class 11 admissions due to the recent CBSE controversies. “Parents and students are worried. Admissions for class 11 started in November and lasted till March. Students were asked to pay a deposit of Rs 30,000. These five students opted out despite not getting a refund,” she said.
Sandeep Pai S, chairman of Bangalore Sahodaya Schools, an association of Bengaluru schools offering CBSE, confirmed the trend. “A parent cited the CBSE controversy as the reason for pulling out her child. This is true of several schools. We’ve seen cases where students have pulled out after the confusion began,” he said.
Existing Shift Amplified
Earlier, TOI reported an increasing trend of CBSE and ICSE students shifting to the state’s pre-university board after class 10. These students now account for 12% of the total PU population in Karnataka. The latest CBSE row is an unlikely but significant factor boosting this shift.
“Some CBSE schools run PU colleges on their campus. For students on such campuses, change is easier as the management permits a shift. Some schools have kept fees the same for both PU and CBSE sections, but still people prefer PU. In Karnataka, parents want marks,” Pai added.
School Principals Confirm Dropouts
J Bhuvaneswari, principal of Presidency School (South), said, “We had seven students with good class 10 results dropping out. We tried to convince them, but they went ahead to PU colleges.”
Another principal, who did not want to be identified, noted a drop in admissions for classes 11 and 12. “We had 117 students in class 10. Only 10% came to CBSE. We could get 25 in that, of which three went to PU. The CBSE controversy is having a negative impact.”
Future Impact Expected
A principal added that the CBSE controversy, which broke out a few weeks ago, might affect next year’s admissions even more. The trend highlights growing parental demand for reliable assessment systems.
About the Author: Sruthy Susan Ullas is an assistant editor with over 14 years of experience, writing extensively on education. Her work focuses on government policies across educational departments, offering in-depth analysis on how they shape the academic landscape in Karnataka.
