:: Opinion

In education debate, geography matters

Ashok Malik

When the finger points to the moon, the idiot points to the finger.

— Old Chinese proverb

Oct.28 : In many ways the debate, discussion and disputation following human resource development minister Kapil Sibal’s suggestion that school-leaving examination results be given greater weight when it comes to admitting students to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has focused on the inessentials. At present, a freshman at the IITs is required to make the shortlist after the joint entrance examination (JEE) as well as get a minimum of 60 per cent in his/her year Class 12 marksheet.

There have been suggestions this cut-off is too low and is encouraging IIT aspirants to neglect school examinations. The minister thought aloud and wondered if a minimum grade of 80 per cent was called for. The final decision has been left to a committee of technocrats and academics that will submit a report in early 2010.

Meanwhile, the "80 per cent" figure has triggered media hysteria. It has been called unrealistic and unfair. Politicians from Bihar have claimed the coaching institutes that send hundreds to the IITs every year — many of the successful candidates being from Bihar — are actually performing a task of social engineering. As such, Mr Sibal’s focus on school examination results is "elitist". In all this, the crux of the issue has been quickly lost sight of.

What is the crux of the issue? It is simply this: Even for schoolchildren from similar backgrounds and with matching intellectual and academic accomplishments, the Indian college/university entrance system does not provide a level-playing field.

In theory, India is one country and any Indian can go to college anywhere in India. In practice, this is just not possible. There is no equal treatment under conditions of equality. The IIT entrance system is only a symptom of this. It is pointless arguing over the symptom — or even tackling the symptom — without understanding its wider framework.

India has over 30 school education boards. They represent different curricula, philosophies of pedagogy and cultures of examination and marking. For instance, the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) — which conducts the Indian School Certificate (ISC) (Year-XII) examination — and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have hundreds of students scoring 90 per cent or more. Other boards are miserly. The Maharashtra Higher Secondary Board is a case in point. In the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education examination, even 70 per cent was considered an exceptional score till some years ago.

Students from such state boards were put at a disadvantage. An ISC or CBSE topper with 95 per cent could walk into St. Stephen’s College in Delhi. A good student from the West Bengal board would have been hard put to get his name on the third list at St. Stephen’s.

The West Bengal Higher Secondary authorities recognised this shortcoming. In the past decade, they have become very liberal in their marking system, bringing it at par with the CBSE or ISC.

However, distortions remain. In Maharashtra, college authorities resort to positive discrimination in favour of state higher secondary board graduates, as against those from the all-India boards — CBSE or CISCE. An informal system of standardising marks has been worked out.

Obviously no such standardisation has been carried out for each of the other 30 odd state/regional boards. As such, if a higher secondary graduate from the Bihar or Jharkhand or Chhattisgarh board turns up at, say, Mumbai’s Jai Hind College, the admission process will be very complex. College administrators will have to first determine how niggardly or generous the candidate’s home board is with its marks — as compared to the Maharashtra board — and then take a decision.

There are other anomalies too. West Bengal has a strong tradition of technical education. The state has its own joint entrance examination for admission to engineering courses at Jadavpur University (Kolkata) and at institutions in Durgapur and Shibpur. The West Bengal higher secondary examination and the West Bengal JEE have a similar orientation. It is not unusual for top students of the West Bengal board (science stream) to also top the West Bengal JEE but not do as well in the IIT JEE.

The source code for the IIT JEE has been cracked elsewhere. Coaching institutes in, among other places, Kota (Rajasthan) and Patna send many students to the IITs every year. These institutes are run by diligent teachers who spend months studying the pattern of IIT JEE question papers and preparing their students for every possible query within that universe. Every few years, the IIT authorities change the JEE pattern. The coaching institutes work meticulously to understand the mysteries of the new pattern as well.

Consider the irony. An IIT JEE coaching institute in Kota can help you get into IIT Kanpur but not necessarily to do well in the West Bengal JEE and get into, say, the engineering school at Jadavpur University. On the other hand, the science stream of the West Bengal board can give you an advantage if you sit the West Bengal JEE but not necessarily if you take the IIT JEE.

In other words, where you are located — in terms of your higher secondary board or your coaching institute — determines which college you get into. Geography becomes more important than intrinsic ability and affinity for an academic or technical course.

Think about it: one good or bad examination could decide whether you access an engineering college of your choice or not. Your performance in that examination itself could be pre-determined by the state your parents chose to live in, the higher secondary board your school is affiliated to or the particular private tutor you put your faith in. It is the ultimate lottery.

Liberal arts colleges can find a way out by interviewing admission seekers and judging their aptitude for economics or history or philosophy. Engineering seats are much more competitively sought and there is little room for subjective calls by public-funded institutions. They will be accused of prejudice if they turn to anything but an "objective" statistical assessment.

How fair is such a system to someone who has not deciphered the source code of the relevant entrance examination but does otherwise have a distinguished track record at school? There is no easy answer — but at least Mr Sibal is forcing us to ask the question.

Ashok Malik can be contacted at malikashok@gmail.com