KAMS urges K’taka govt to reduce SSLC pass percentage from current 35 to 33 to match national norms
Bengaluru: In a bid to improve student outcomes in the SSLC examination, the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) has urged the state government to reduce the minimum pass percentage from the current 35% to 33%, bringing it in line with national standards.
KAMS, an association of private school managements, has submitted a series of policy-level reforms and recommendations to improve the pass percentages in the SSLC exam to Rashmi Mahesh, Principal Secretary of the Department of School Education and Literacy. The proposal follow a comparative study of the education systems in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, as reported by The Hindu on Sunday.
The association has requested the government to form a high-level committee on SSLC exam reforms immediately. It pointed out that Karnataka’s pass criteria are stricter than in other regions. “While in Karnataka it is 35%, CBSE has it at 33%. In Kerala, it is 30% in all subjects and also in total. In Andhra Pradesh, students must score 35% in each subject except in Hindi (20%). Overall 32.5% is required,” KAMS noted.
The association also highlighted disparities in assessment models. While states such as Kerala and Telangana follow a blended approach combining internal and external assessments, Karnataka mandates a minimum of 35% solely in the final written examination, with no weight given to internal assessments. For instance, Telangana includes 20 internal marks per subject, and Kerala allots 130 marks to internal evaluations out of a total of 650. CBSE allocates 20 marks for internals and 80 for externals, requiring students to score 33% overall to pass the exams.
KAMS further recommended the introduction of a dual exam option in mathematics and science in Karnataka, similar to the CBSE system that offers students a choice between basic and standard mathematics. This, the association argues, would reduce academic burden on students, the report added.
To ensure broader reforms, KAMS also recommended aligning Karnataka’s textbooks and curriculum with those of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). In addition, improving teacher training and strengthening the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) process were among the other reforms suggested.
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Divya Deshmukh beats Humpy to win Women's World Cup, becomes Grandmaster
Batumi (Georgia) (PTI): Teenaged Indian chess player Divya Deshmukh earned the biggest success of her career by clinching the FIDE Women's World Cup with a tie-break win over compatriot and more experienced Koneru Humpy here on Monday.
The victory not just earned the 19-year-old the prestigious title, but also made her a Grandmaster, something which looked improbable when she started the tournament.
The victory for the Nagpur player came after the two classical games played on Saturday and Sunday ended in draws.
Having drawn the two classical games, it was the first set of tiebreakers that proved decisive as Humpy lost her nerves. Except the World Cup and the Women's World Championship, Humpy has won everything under the sun but, as fate or nerves would have it, the World Cup title eluded her.
Divya showed steely resolve on Monday, and the bonus for the determination was the Grandmaster title, reserved for the champion of this event.
For the record, Divya became the 88th Grandmaster of the country and if she continues to remain resolute in her endeavour she has the ability to achieve great success.
Divya is now the fourth Indian woman player to achieve the GM feat after Humpy, Dronavalli Harika and R Vaishali.
Humpy, 38, became a Grandmaster in 2002 and Divya was only born in 2005. Divya was a bundle of energy as she kept piling pressure on Humpy in the opening tiebreaker, tiring out her illustrious opponent and then going for the kill in the second tiebreaker.
Out of a Petroff defense, Divya got an isolated Queen pawn middle game and sacrificed a pawn to give Humpy better prospects in the opening tiebeaker. However, Humpy returned the favour with her clock ticking away, and soon enough she was staring at a position where she had a rook, bishop and a pawn against Divya's Queen.
The position, however, remained close to being equal and Humpy drew quite easily in the end.
In the return game, Humpy employed the Catalan opening and again Divya was well prepared as she equalised without much ado. Humpy had sacrificed a pawn early but the ensuing queen-and-rook endgame was just a draw.
It was on the 40th move that Humpy lost her cool and tried to invade the opposition through a pawn sacrifice. Divya could have done better but the rook-and-pawns endgame she reached was still a draw.
This was Divya's day as Humpy again ran a bit short of time and blundered in the endgame again, leading to a theoretically won position for Divya.
The fortunes in this game fluctuated between a draw and a win for Divya for a long time, till the Nagpur girl prevailed.
