Private school entrance tests banned

Posted On: 13/02/2011 Updated On:

Hyderabad: Students from the state will not be forced to face screening tests for admission to private schools this season. For, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) issued a directive to the secondary school education department on Friday to ban all screening tests for admissions.

On Friday, D Sambashiva Rao, principal secretary, secondary education, directed the commissioner of school education to ban private schools from holding screening tests. The order stated that if schools violate the order, the government would de-recognise them.

The directive has come at a time when several corporate schools including Narayana Group of Schools, Sri Chaitanya Techno Schools and Ravindra Bharathi Group of Schools have scheduled their “entrance tests”. The schools planned to conduct their tests on Sunday. As per the order, the schools will now have to return the entrance fee (Rs 50) collected from students. Private schools stated that they would abide by the government order and stop the screening tests.

According to Achyutha Rao, president, AP Bala Sangham, the child rights NGO that petitioned the SHRC on the issue, the screening tests are just a marketing strategy employed by private schools to lure students. “The schools advertise that they would give full scholarship to students who get high grades in the screening test. But just one or two students from thousands who write the test get scholarship,” said Rao. He added that the schools hold these tests to attract students of other schools. “Since several schools have mushroomed in the state during the past few years, it is difficult for managements to fill seats. Hence to attract students, they conduct these tests,” Rao told the SHRC. The petitioner also stated that the schools were luring students with freebies like i-pods, DVD players, laptops and web cameras. The SHRC also directed the principal secretary, secondary education to file a report on the matter by February 18. “The department takes the matter seriously and might even impose a fine on schools which have advertised the tests,” said Sambashiva Rao.

Interestingly, the schools have been conducting talent tests in violation of not just the Right to Education Act but also a high court order issued in 2009.

The court had banned screening tests under the name “talent hunts” which were being conducted by corporate schools to attract students. The schools, however, continued the screening tests under different names including “free entrance” and “road show” to avoid contempt of court.

More News

TNPSC 2024: Group 2 prelims admit card released at tnpsc.gov.in

TNPSC Group 2 admit card: The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) has issued the TNPSC Group 2 admit card 2024 for the prelim examination. Aspirants who registered for the Combined Civil Services Prelims Examination can get the admit ca...

Posted On: 05/09/2024

ICAI free live sessions from September 9 for CA intermediate May 2025 students

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in India will from September 9 start free live sessions for students preparing for the May 2025 intermediate exam. The ICAI free classes, organised by the Board of Studies (BoS), will include live lectures, inte...

Posted On: 05/09/2024

TNPSC 2024: Group 2 prelims admit card released at tnpsc.gov.in

Posted On: 05/09/2024

NEET UG 2024 Counselling: Registration for round 2 begins today

NEET UG 2024 Admissions: The Medical Counseling Committee (MCC) will begin registration for the second round of the National Eligibility Entrance Test – Undergraduate (NEET UG) counseling 2024 today (September 5). This NEET UG round is for...

Posted On: 05/09/2024

NIT-Srinagar: A look at last five years NIRF rankings

The National Institute of Technology, Srinagar’s (NIT- S) ranking in the engineering category of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) saw an increase this year. The NIT is now ranked at 79 with a TLR of 62.60. Last year, the ran...

Posted On: 04/09/2024

DU to announce upgraded allocations, round 1 list of performance based programmes today

The University of Delhi (DU) will today (September 3) announce the upgraded allocations and first round of allocations against performance-based programmes, CW, ECA, sports and ward quota seats. The upgrade window operational between August 31 and S...

Posted On: 04/09/2024

IIM-Ahmedabad 2024 Placements: 121 accept offers, consulting firms recruit 35% students

IIM Ahmedabad Placement 2024: The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad concluded the final placement process of its one year MBA (PGPX) at the end of June 2024. About 121 students from the IIMA PGPX class of 2024 accepted offers across...

Posted On: 04/09/2024

JAM 2025: Registration process begins today at jam2025.iitd.ac.in

JAM 2025 Application: The JAM Online Application Processing System (JOAPS) for JAM 2025 will begin today (September 3). Candidates can apply for the Joint Admission Test for Masters (JAM) through the “Candidate Portal” on t...

Posted On: 03/09/2024

JEE Main 2025: Should I try taking the third attempt?

JEE Main 2025: The Joint Admission Examination (JEE) is one of the most difficult engineering admission exams in India. Success in JEE requires careful planning, unwavering concentration, and preparation because the competition gets harder every...

Posted On: 03/09/2024

IIM-Lucknow establishes Centre of Excellence in Blockchain Technology

The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow‘s Enterprise Incubation Centre (IIML-EIC) today announced the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Blockchain Technology (CoE-BT). The Government of Uttar Pradesh is supporting this initiative u...

Posted On: 03/09/2024

View all