Delhi: 4.5k applications pour in for govt's specialised schools of excellence

SoSEs offer specialised education to students of classes 9 to 12 in four domains -- science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); humanities, performing and visual arts, and “high- end 21st-century skills.”

A day after the Delhi government announced a partnership with the International Baccalaureate (IB) for its state board, the education department received over 4,500 applications on day one of admission to its 20 Schools of Specialised Excellence (SoSE), which will be among the 30 government schools affiliated to the board in the first phase.

Heads of schools have been using various ways to counsel existing students and make them aware of the new state board. (Sanchit Khanna/HT file photo. Representative image)

SoSEs offer specialised education to students of classes 9 to 12 in four domains -- science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); humanities, performing and visual arts, and “high- end 21st-century skills.” While the department has reserved 1,920 seats for STEM, 600 seats have been reserved for humanities and skills each, and 240 for performing and visual arts in the 20 SoSEs.

Since existing resource-rich government schools, such as the School of Excellence and the Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, are being converted into 20 SoSEs in the first phase, class 9 and 11 students registered under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in RPVV and SOE will be studying in the SoSE under the CBSE board.

Heads of schools have been using various ways to counsel existing students and make them aware of the new state board. Several principals HT spoke to said that they have roped in school management committee (SMC) members to inform stakeholders, including parents and teachers, about the new board. Teachers and principals are also using WhatsApp groups among their own circles to disseminate information among multiple stakeholders, including private schools.

An interested applicant can visit SoSE online platform hosted on the education department’s portal and register till August 19. Admissions to these courses will be conducted by assessing the applicant’s aptitude and interest, through a test and an interface, where necessary. The tests will be conducted between August 23 to 29, following which the merit-list and allocation of the school campus will be released by end of August.

Sarita Batra, head of RPVV School in Shalimar Bagh, has also formed a help desk in her school to share information on the new SoSE. “We talked about SoSE and the new board with parents during the parent-teacher meeting organised in July. We are sharing information and FAQs related to this on WhatsApp groups with other principals. Our SMC members have also been talking to different parent groups and sharing information in their circles. We try to provide information on other domain as well or direct them to the SoSEs offering those subjects,” she said.

However, not all stakeholders are convinced of the government move to convert resource-rich RPVVs into SoSEs. Netra Pal Singh Rathore, an SMC member from RPVV Surajmal Vihar, said, “I spoke to several students today (Thursday) and they said they would be able to choose a specialisation only after their Class 10 boards, which is how our children are trained to think. Many have also questioned the motive behind reducing the number of science schools in the city, especially when there are fewer science schools than other streams. Due to the conversion of RPVV to SoSE, the number of science schools has gone down from 20 to eight.”

Stakeholders HT spoke to said they too are skeptical of the possibilities that the new board is offering since the board is working with SoSEs on a pilot basis. Deepanshu Jha, a Class 9 student who studies in RPVV Shalimar Bagh, said, “We had a meeting with our science teachers, parents, and the principal who told us about SoSEs that will start in our campus. I have been thinking of appearing for the test. I don’t want to switch to DBSE now because it is all very new and is working on a trial basis whereas CBSE is a well-established board.”

A senior education department official, requesting anonymity, said, “Even before deciding upon the curriculum, the directorate of education (DOE) conducted a survey to gauge the response towards these specialised schools. We have been holding talks with parents and schools and will have another round of dialogue with stakeholders. In less than 24 hours of issuing the circular, we received over 4,500 applications which shows that people want their wards to study in the schools.”

“As far as science schools are concerned, we are increasing the number of seats because there will be 25 STEM schools in total, of which eight are being established this year and others will be developed in the next phase. Compared to RPVVs, where there was only one section for science stream, there will be three to four sections for science in each SoSE,” added the official.

On Thursday, the education department held the first three-hour workshop on the new curriculum. Two teachers from each SoSE congregated at RPVV Civil Lines and held a discussion on teaching methodology.

“We interacted with certain teachers who have taught in both CBSE and IB schools and learned how the international board works. Certain activities were conducted and it helped us understand the pedagogy better. For instance, these instructors took objects from our daily lives and asked us to frame questions related to the object like who invented it, how it is used, and whether it is bio-degradable or not. This helps teachers to ditch the stagnant teaching methods and focus on developing thinking methods,” said a teacher who attended the workshop on Thursday.

Several educators teaching in junior classes of these schools are now worried as SoSEs are only for students of classes 9 to 12. “There is too much uncertainty over how things will function now. We are only waiting for guidelines from the head of school or the department. Teachers have been getting a little nervous about the implementation,” said a Class 6 teacher from an RPVV school, which have students from classes 6 to 12. Admissions to RPVV schools were not conducted in the past two years, so these schools currently have students from class 8 onwards.

The education department official quoted above said they are aware of similar concerns raised by other junior school teachers. “We have clarified that those students admitted to RPVV and SOE under CBSE board will complete their schooling under the same conditions in which they joined. Since SoSE curriculum also involves common foundational learning, eligible teachers can also move to SoSE,” said the official.