6 CBSE students among top 10 in West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination

KOLKATA: Six among the top-10 ranks at the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) have been bagged by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) students, followed by three from West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Examination (WBCHSE) and one from the Council Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). Three students in the top-10 were from the city, while two were from Bankura schools and one each from institutions in West Midnapore, East Burdwan and West Burdwan. Two others in top-10 had studied in Rajasthan.At the WBJEE where nearly all the candidates who appeared have also passed (the pass percentage at the exam is 99.4%), 53% candidates were from HS Board. CBSE students formed the next chunk with 29% students, while around 2% were from ISC. In all, 97,524 candidates had appeared in the WBJEE and 96,913 students were successful. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee and education minister Bratya Basu tweeted their congratulations to the successful students. The CM tweeted, "I am extremely happy that 53% of total successful candidates are from West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. This year 27.5% of the successful candidates are women."Proportionately, CBSE students seemed to have outperformed those from other boards with 60% of the top-10 ranks being bagged by them. Though there were three from the HS board on the list, the ratio was lower given that one in two students who had appeared and cleared the exam was from this board. The first and the second rank holders - Md Sahil Akhtar and Soham Das - are from DPS Ruby Park. The third rank holder - Sara Mukherjee - is from Bankura Banga Vidyalaya. Principals of schools feel that the syllabus, competency-based questions and regular assessments give the CBSE students an advantage. Principal of DPS Ruby Park Joyoti Chaudhuri said, "More stress is being given in classrooms to solve competency-based questions which have proved helpful in the preparation of JEE." Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan principal Arun Dasgupta said, "The updated CBSE syllabus is at par with WBJEE syllabus, which gives the students an advantage. The results are a manifestation of continuous assessments and rigorous drilling." Headmaster of Jadavpur Vidyapith, Partha Pratim Baidya, highlighted that the state board students got comparatively less time to complete the syllabus than their counterparts in other boards. He added, "We need to focus more on preparing students for competitive exams like WBJEE."Akhtar said, "CBSE exams are more liberal towards competitive exams and their focus is national orientation." Mukherjee said she studied in an English medium school under WBCHSE and did not face any difficulty in competitive exams. Malayendu Saha, chairman of the WBJEE board, said the counselling can't start before June 30 till All India Council for Technical Education, Council of Architecture and Pharmacy Council of India submit their report and approval.