INDENTIFICATION AND NURTURANCE OF TALENT
In the area of talent search, the NCERT is conducting two major programmes: National Talent Search., and Technical Support to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas
106
18 IDENTIFICATION AND NURTURANCE OF TALENT In the area of talent search, the NCERT is conducting two major programmes: (i) National Talent Search, and (ii) Technical Support to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
National Talent Search Scheme The NCERT, under its National Talent Search (NTS) scheme, awards 750 scholarships including 70 scholarships for SC/ ST candidates each year. The purpose of this scheme is to identify brilliant students at the end of Class X and give them financial assistance towards getting good education so that their talent may develop further and they may serve the discipline of their choice as well as the nation.
The selection for the award under the NTS scheme is done in two stages. The first stage selection is done by the states and UTs through written examination conducted usually between October and December. On the basis of this examination, a stipulated number of candidates are recommended to the NCERT for the second level test. The second stage selection involves both written examination and an interview for the selection of' the requisite number of awardees. The NCERT not only awards scholarships to these selected candidates, but also organises suitable summer institutes to nurture candidates' talents with the help and cooperation of leading institutions of the country.
Number of NTS Scholarships Awarded during 1996-97
S. States/UTs Quota No. of Students No.of Scholarships
No. Allotted Appeared in scholarships Awarded
Second-Level Awarded (SC/ST)
Test (General)
1. Andhra Pradesh 195 173 30 05
2. Arunachal Pradesh 25 21 - 02
3. Assam 90 90 04 02
4. Bihar 215 209 76 05
5. Delhi 50 50 27 01
6. Goa 25 23 03 -
7. Gujarat 165 131 02 -
8. Haryana 70 70 12 01
9. Himachal 35 34 04 02
10. Jam 25 25 02 -
11. Karnataka 170 166 35 07
12. Kerala 190 189 44 04
13. Madhya Pradesh 130 121 26 03
14. Maharashtra 365 362 162 22
15. Manipur 25 25 - -
16. Meghalaya 25 24 - 01
17. Mizoram 25 09 - -
18. Nagaland 25 21 - -
19. Orissa 155 151 27 03
20. Punjab 100 99 26 01
21. Rajasthan 95 92 44 03
22. Sikkim 25 19 - -
23. Tamil Nadu 245 238 44 -
24. Tripura 25 22 01 -
25. Uttar Pradesh 430 414 80 01
26. West Bengal 265 248 25 07
27. A&N Island 10 09 - -
28. Chandigarh 10 09 06 -
29. Dadar & NagarHaveli 10 02 - -
30. Daman & Diu 10 - - -
31. Lakshadweep 10 - - -
32. Pondicherry 10 10 - -
3250 3055 680 70
Total No. of NTS during 1996 = 750
107
Total Number of Awardees Getting Scholarship during 1996-97
+2 Stage Class XI 750 1500
Class XII 750
Under-Graduate Level
Basic Science 121
Social Science 93
Engg./B.Tech 1581
Medicine 836
Post-Graduate Level
Basic Science 11
Social Science 6
Engg./M.Tech 2
Medicine 62
Management 44
Ph.D. 4
Total 4260
Expenditure during 1996-97
1. Disbursement of Scholarship 95,99,650.00
2. Conduct of NTS Examination 7,19,643.00
3. Summer School/Attachment Programme 14,439.00
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas Selection Test The NCERT continued carrying out the task of selection of students for admission to Class VI of the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs). The JNVs have been established to (i) serve the objective of excellence coupled with equity, (ii) promote national integration, (iii) provide opportunities to the talented children to develop their full potential, and (iv) facilitate the process of school improvement. The basis of admission in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas is a selection test designed and evolved by the NCERT. The medium of the test is the mother tongue or the regional languages.
The selection test has three sections: (i) Mental Ability Test-60 questions, (ii) Arithmetic Test-20 questions, and (iii) Language Test- 20 questions. All the questions are multiple-choice type questions, each having four options. The tests are prepared and finalised in English and translated into 17 languages (Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Garo, Gujarati, Hindi,.Kannada, Khasi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Mizo, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu).
There is a provision for reservation of at least 15 per cent seats for SCs and 7.5 per cent seats for STs. In, order to encourage education of girl at least one-third of the total selected candidates should be girls. At least 75 per cent of the seats are filled from schools located in rural areas and remaining from the urban areas.
During the year 1996-97, the first JNVs test was conducted on 8 June 1996 in the States of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, A total number of 23,752 candidates were registered out of which 18,629 candidates appeared for the test at various centres. The number of candidates selected for the JNVs was 1,993; of these 725 were girls. The number of selected candidates for rural and urban areas was 1,633 and 360, respectively.
The second JNVs test during the year 1996-97 was conducted on 23 February 1997 in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Orissa, Sikkim, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and UTs of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. A total number of 3, 69,568 can- didates were registered of which 3,41,632 candidates appeared for this test at various centres.
108
The number of candidates selected for the JNVs spread across the country was 22,455; of these 7,758 were girls. The number of selected candidates for rural and urban areas was 17,147 and 5,308, respectively.
The category-wise number of candidates for both the examinations was as under (see Box).
Category No. of Selected Candidates
June 1996 February 1997
General Category 751 8,388
Other Backward Classes 137 5,382
Scheduled Castes 241 5,486
Scheduled Tribes 864 3,199
Total 1,993 22,445
109