Tag

12th Boards

Browsing

12th Board Results are highly unpredictable and it would be foolishness to allow something like that to control your higher education choices. Explore other colleges that admit students on the basis of entrance examinations and more.
Looking at the title, you might think, “Why should we take it from someone who herself studies in DU? Why would she understand?”The relevance and accuracy of board examinations are largely over-estimated in our country. Our XII board marks don’t stay relevant forever; they are a small part of our life, meant to ensure the smooth transition from one phase to another. Even Vineet Joshi, chairman of CBSE, admitted that Class XII scores are not the correct marker for selection for higher education. I have a disregard for the Indian education system and would not hesitate to voice my opinion that the XII boards only test an individual’s capability of answering a paper according to a prescribed answer pattern. Ever since my encounter with the disaster called CBSE English results, my question has been, how can an answer key dictate expression or knowledge in a subjective paper like English?
I don’t wish to delve into a rant about how marks don’t matter and why scoring decent marks in not only CBSE but any other state/central board is a matter of luck and mugging rather than deep understanding of the text. Through this article, I’d share with you my research on why XII board results are not the be-all, end-all for a student.
One of the grave mistakes many students make is that they apply only to the University of Delhi (DU) and ignore other universities and educational institutes in Delhi as well as outside. Jamia Milia Islamia, one of the best alternatives to DU, conducts entrance tests for admission into its undergraduate courses. A well-reputed university, its degree has value and respect equivalent to DU’s degree. Further, the students have the option of applying to government colleges outside Delhi which conduct entrances such as the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, Loyola College in Chennai, Presidency University in Kolkata, Ramnarain Ruia College (affiliated to Mumbai University), some of which begin with the application process way before the central boards declare their results.
There is no doubt that Delhi University has a rich history and some notable names from the fields of Arts, Films, Journalism, Politics, and Literature in their list of alumni. However, for students who want to pursue specialised courses like design or multimedia, DU wouldn’t suffice even if you have the marks to qualify for the same. For instance, only a handful of colleges from over 64 provide Journalism as a course. And even for those which do, students complain of substandard education. For specialised courses, private universities like Amity University, Sharda University, O.P Jindal University, Ashoka University, and Symbiosis Institute provide meaningful alternatives.
IGNOU is clearly not the conventional choice, but the University is worth a shot for students who wish to complete their graduation while pursuing other interests. Correspondence course students can get access to the study material well in advance and can study at their own pace here.
As the XII boards approach, remember not to worry about the uncles and aunts who never wish you in March (before the exams start) but always uncannily materialise in May (when the results come out). Remember that outside DU, there’s a world of opportunities waiting for you to be explored.

Feature Image credits: NDTV
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
[email protected]