Pune: Around 16 lakh students across the State who will appear for the Secondary State Certificate (SSC) examination 2019, have taken the state-sanctioned aptitude test. The test was conducted by Shyamchi Aai Foundation for the students of the schools under the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE).
The link to take the test, that was opened on December 18, 2018, will remain open for the students till February 5. “The number that we have till now is that of freshers and the regular students appearing for SSC examination. The repeaters and the external students also take the test, but our focus is always on fresher students,” said Pranav Pendse, Senior Project Manager of the foundation.
Outcomes to be available sooner
He has also stated that the foundation is trying to make the results of the tests available online on the last day of the SSC examination itself. “Once the examination is over, the students get confused over choosing further course. To avoid that, we will try to declare the results sooner online. However, the hard copies will be given to them along with their marksheets, like every year,” Pendse said.
After the results, in case, any student wants to consult a counsellor regarding the results of the aptitude tests, the Maharashtra State Council for Educational Research and Training (MSCERT) will have counsellors available and the students can take their reports to them for further assistance or clarification on doubts.
What was new this time?
“This year, for the first time, the tests were conducted through a mobile app. Usually, the tests were conducted on computers,” said Pendse.
“This year, we introduced mobile apps and received a tremendous response. Close to 9,75,000 mobile phones were used to take the tests across the state, in rural as well as urban areas,” Pendse said.
Also, this year, along with finding out the fields of interest of the students, the test will determine their aptitude and capabilities. The project manager added, “There were four types of tests this year i.e. verbal, logical, numerical and spatial. The overall test was designed to be taken in 90 minutes.
Thus, not just the interest of the students will be determined this time, but we will also determine whether they have the aptitude to pursue those interests or not. At the same time, guidance will be give to the students on how to improve on their capabilities.”
NCERT’s Know Your Aptitude Tool
Similar to the Maharashtra State Board, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi has developed a tool for knowing the aptitude of students of classes IX and X. The Know Your Aptitude (KYA) Tool has been made available to the students at www.cbse.nic.in from January 29 and all the schools under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have been instructed and guided to conduct the aptitude tests.
