Though I believe in equity of opportunity for all, I do not think parity between students from different education boards can be attained by either imposing the percentile system or the reservation of quotas for a certain section. The percentile system imposed last year, and the recent proposal by the Maharashtra government to reserve 90 per cent of the seats in junior colleges for the state board students would have inconvenienced ICSE and CBSE students to a great extent.

The percentile system was forced upon Mumbai’s junior colleges just two days before they were to display the first lists for admission to Classes 11 and 12. This meant admitting students based not on their percentages in the board examinations but a complex calculation of their percentiles. Meant to create a level platform for students from the three boards, the attempt led to confusion and a high court order against implementing the system. The ruling also stated that admissions policy must be announced well in advance.

On June 8 this year, barely a week before the announcement of state board Class 10 results, Maharashtra Education Minister Radha-krishna Vikhe Patil announced a proposal to reserve 90 per cent seats in junior colleges for state board students henceforth. According to Patil, the reservation would bring parity among the various boards. Since state board schools outnumber others and since all Marathi-medium students belong to this board, all parties are backing Patil’s proposal. Needless to say, non-state board schools, teachers and parents of ISCE and CBSE students have threatened legal action.

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