Aptitude test from Dec 2, SSC students can use mobiles and computers

A year after the state education department asked schools to conduct aptitude tests for Class 10 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) students using only mobile phones,

A year after the state education department asked schools to conduct aptitude tests for Class 10 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) students using only mobile phones, it has now allowed the usage of computers, too, for the current academic year (2019-20).

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In a circular issued on December 19, the department has asked schools to conduct aptitude tests using either computers or mobile phones or both for all Class 10 students, between December 27 and January 18. “This test can be administered on a mobile phone or on a computer. Schools can pick any of the two options or a mix of both as per their convenience and depending on their availability,” reads the circular.

The decision comes against the backdrop of schools reporting difficulties in getting a large number of phones to conduct the ‘kal chachani’ (aptitude tests).

Over the past four years, the department has been conducting aptitude tests with the help of Shyamchi Aai Foundation to help students zero in on their career choice after clearing their board exams. Until 2017, the tests were administered online on computers. From 2018, however, schools were asked to use only smartphones for the test, through an application.

Sheetal Bapat, founder-director of Shyamchi Aai Foundation, said the computer interface will be exactly like the one made available on phones. “We just wanted to give more options to schools. Earlier, the computer-based test was slightly cumbersome and it was difficult to get results immediately. We have made it exactly like the mobile app,” she said.

However, schools said they will find it difficult to conduct these tests in time with Christmas vacations around the corner. “By the time we reopen, there would be prelim exams and we would barely get any time to conduct the tests. Also, we do not know how useful these tests have been in the past as students’ choices are ultimately dependent on their scores and the cut-offs owing to competition,” said Rajesh Pandya, teacher at Fatimadevi High School in Malad.

In 2018, 16.10 lakh students took the mobile-based aptitude tests across 22,000 schools, for which 9.75 lakh devices were used. The highest number of students preferred a degree in Commerce (21%), followed by Fine Arts (18%) and uniformed services (15%).