FRANSISCO D LUIS Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Legality and validity of a statistical formula described as "percentile" introduced by the State Government for regulating admission of the students to 11th standard has been challenged by this petition, filed in the pubic interest. Students who pass the 10th standard examination from various Boards such as SSC Board, ISCE Board, CBSE Board are eligible for seeking admission to 11th standard/1st year of the junior college in schools and colleges affiliated to the SSC Board. Prior to the commencement of academic year 200809 students who passed 10th standard examination from all the Boards were treated alike and their interse merit was judged on the basis of the percentage of marks secured by them in the 10th standard examination conducted by the respective Boards. By introducing the "percentile" formula, the criteria for admissions prevailing prior to this year has been given a goby and the admissions in the academic year 200809 are regulated by the "percentile rank" assigned to the students by application of the formula with which we will be dealing with in the later part of the judgment. Perception of the State Government.

(2.) The number of students appearing in the SSC, ICSE, CBSE and other Boards vary drastically in as much as more than 15.5 lacs students appeared for 10th standard examination conducted by SSC Board, whereas about 15,000 students appeared from CBSE Board and about 1200 students from ICSE Board. The different boards have their own syllabus and subjects, different pattern of examination and different standard of evaluation. It was found difficult by the State and its authorities to compare the interse merit of the students passing from different Boards,having regard to the disparities. It was perceived that some of the Boards evaluate the performance of the students at the examination liberally and thus the students from the said Board are placed in an advantageous position as compared to the other Boards. With a view to standardise or normalise the percentage of marks secured by the students from different Boards, a need to evolve a formula was felt by the State. It is not in dispute that the examination conducted by the different Boards do not have the same subjects and the same option in relation to the subjects. The total number of marks allotted by the Boards as well defer. The syllabus so also the question papers are not the same. Thus the State Government has come out with the "percentile" formula. While introducing the formula the State Government assumed that the first ten students from the three Boards viz. SSC, ICSE and CBSE are equally meritorious and hence issued a Government Circular on 27thJune 2008 and introduced the formula. Perusal of the circular reveals that having regard to the difference in the pattern of examination, subjects,scheme of marking and the strata of the class of students catarred by the different Boards, normalisation was felt necessary to be introduced. Due to dissimilarity in the pattern of examination, the students from SSC Board suffer and do not get admission to the preferred colleges, whereas the students from other Boards get admission in such colleges as their percentage is higher. With a view to facilitate securing of admissions for the students passing fromSSC Boards in preferred colleges, the circular came to be issued introducing the "percentile" formula.

(3.) It will be thus seen that by applying the percentile formula, the percentile rank is arrived at in respect of each student and the schools and colleges have been instructed to admit the students with reference to the percentile rank and not with reference to the percentage of marks secured in the 10th standard examination. The percentile rank is thus notional and would vary depending upon the percentage of marks secured by ten toppers from the respective Boards.