MUKESH PATEL SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT & ENGINEERING

Project Report
A Study On The “Best of Five” Policy
Abbas Dawood

This document reviews the “Best of five” controversy citing the rules and rights provided in the
Constitution of India, from the author’s perspective. Submitted as Part of Trimester X Project Work
Table of Contents
Case History ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Timeline................................................................................................................................................... 3
The need for the system ......................................................................................................................... 4
1. The percentile system ................................................................................................................. 4
2. The 90:10 rule ............................................................................................................................. 4
3. The Best of Five System .............................................................................................................. 4
What the Law States ............................................................................................................................... 6
How does it affect students of other boards .......................................................................................... 7
The case from my perspective ................................................................................................................ 8
Works Cited ............................................................................................................................................. 9
Case History
In a move to de-stress the Class 10 students across the country, the HRD ministry of the Government
of India has made massive reforms to the education system. Following its lead, the government of
Maharashtra has taken steps to modify the state approved curriculum to achieve the same. The
state government came up with a plan to install a new system by offering to have a “Best of Five”
evaluation criterion in the Class 10 SSC (Senior Secondary Certificate) Exam. This attempt at
modifying the state board’s way of evaluation follows two highly criticized and unsuccessful
attempts, that were made a couple of years earlier viz. The percentile system and the 90:10 rule.

The earlier attempts to modify the existing system and the latest one improve the chances of the
SSC students to get admitted easily into the junior colleges.

During the compilation of this document, the “Best of Five” system has been quashed by the
Mumbai High Court. A division bench of acting Chief Justice J.N. Patel and Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari
have denied the viability of the governmental resolution. This decision by the HC would result in the
delay of processes of admission of 12.73 Lakh students into junior colleges. It would also result in the
reduction of the marks of the SSC students by 2 – 13%.

Timeline

February 2010 June 2010 June 23, 2010 July 9, 2010

Introduction of Appeal against HC sets aside new Case moved to SC
“Best Of Five” the new rule rule by government
policy
The need for the system
The Maharashtra state education board feels that the students belonging to boards other than the
Maharashtra board were at an advantage when it comes to securing admissions in junior colleges, as
their boards’ award marks leniently; thus leading to a situation of complete disparity.

Also the fact that the SSC students have three languages, as opposed to t he two compulsory and
only languages in the other boards; is a valid point for a joust.

Thus in the last 3 years (2008 - 2010), the Maharashtra state education board has been trying its
hand at introducing newer systems that would give the students of Class 10 SSC a better chance of
getting admitted into junior colleges. There have been 3 attempts at forging a new rule, 2 of which
have failed miserably, and the remaining 1 is discussed throughout the document. The previous 2
attempts at modification are listed below:

1. The percentile system

As per the government, the percentile system was introduced to do away with comparative
disparity between students from different boards. Under this system, an SSC student with
84.3% would be at par with an ICSE student scoring 87.3% and a CBSE student scoring 86.4%;
as all would be at par with a percentile score of 90%. This system was rejected by a Bombay
High Court ruling.

2. The 90:10 rule

The 90:10 rule was created to secure a major stake of the admissions available in junior
colleges for the students of Class 10 SSC. The non-SSC students would be given a 10%
reservation to get admitted into junior colleges, and the state promised that this rule in no
manner would do injustice to the students from other boards. This governmental resolution
was however struck down by the Bombay High Court, seeing it as a clear violation of article
14 of the Constitution and of various verdicts of the Supreme Court, which asks the state to
invoke principles of reasonableness in all its policy decisions. In fact, the writ said that, in
effect, the state was “imposing a ban on all students—who pursue education and give
examinations from boards other than the SSC board—from getting admission based on
merit. Hence, the state’s decision even violates right to life under Article 21 of the Indian
Constitution.”

3. The Best of Five System

Following the failure of the systems for score equalization of SSC Class 10 students and the
students of other boards, the state education board has come up with a new policy called
the “Best of Five” wherein, the SSC students will be given an option to chose 5 out of six
subjects which they can study and appear for the examinations (news.oneindia.in, jan 22).
The student will be given an option to drop one of the remaining four subjects which
includes Mathematics, Social Sciences, Science and Hindi. The two languages, English and
Marathi; are mandatory
"We are thinking about the 'best of five' system, and discussing the issue with experts.
Other boards are already having the system," minister of state for education

- Fauzia Khan (Minister of State for Education) (OneIndia News, 2010)

The state believes this new formula to be a huge success, as it commends its officers for
doing better groundwork this time around.
Naturally, seeing the clear violation of the equality of students from other boards to
admission into junior colleges, the parents of students in ICSE schools appealed to the High
Court. The government officials however plan to standardize the system, adding that the SSC
students will now get a fair chance of competing against the ICSE and CBSE students
What the Law States
Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality of all persons before law. The Supreme Court ruled
that the guiding principle of Article 14 is that all persons and things similarly circumstanced shall be
treated alike both in privileges conferred and imposed. 1

Noted British Lawyer Sir William Ivor Jennings states that “Equality before law means that amongst
equals, the law should be equal and should be equally administered and that the like should be
treated alike” 2

Article 14 also states that the State shall not discriminate as between two individuals similarly
placed.

The Supreme Court has held in a case that Article 14 “did not prevent the Legislature from
introducing a reform gradually, that is to say, at first applying the legislation to some of the
institutions or objects having common or particular areas only, according to the exigencies of the
situation.” 3

The article 14 allows the state to grant incentives and privileges to depressed classes so that they
become respectable citizens.

1
Satish Chandra vs. The Union Of India, AIR, 1953, SC, 250 at p. 252
2
Jennings, Law of The Constitution, p. 94
3
Biswambhar vs. State of Orissa, Ram Chand vs. State of Orissa
How does it affect students of other boards
The students of the ICSE (Indian Council for Secondary Education) and CBSE (Central Board of
Secondary Education) boards, which the state believes as lenient evaluators, face a heavy
competition at a magnitude seen never before as the students of the SSC board score unbelievably
high marks as a result of the new rule. The impact of the new rule on the ICSE students is much more
than what it affects the CBSE students. This is because, however lenient the board might be, the ICSE
students are graded on the basis of the marks obtained in 7 subjects. CBSE has been consistent with
its policy of 5 subjects in the board (both Class 10 and Class 12). The SSC students, now having an
option of dropping any one subject, are at a clear advantage. Also, the reforms have a clause, which
gives an additional 25 marks for state and national level athletes. The addition of these marks have
resulted in some Class 10 SSC students get full marks in their boards.

“Reforms are remedial measures the board takes as and when problems come up”

- Basanti Roy, Former Secretary of the Board’s Mumbai division

“By making it easier for SSC students, it’s giving us an advantage against ICSE students,”

- Palak Thadeshwar, (Class 10 SSC Student)

The sudden and substantial increase in marks results in the SSC students, in most cases have scored
higher than their ICSE or CBSE counterparts. The sudden increase is attributed also to the dropping
of essential subjects such as Mathematics and Science, which is mandatory in every other board at
the Class 10 level. Of course, the students having dropped Mathematics and Science cannot, by
convention and logic, get admitted into science and commerce courses offered by the junior
colleges. But this clause is no valid reason to inculcate a new policy in the age old system.
The case from my perspective
The inclusion and the sustenance of the “Best of Five” policy, is clearly discriminatory against the
students of the ICSE and CBSE boards. A democracy such as ours demands equality among all, and it
is indeed a matter of concern that the state government, of all, should come up with such policies to
differentiate among the youth of our nation.

The state may have its power to distinguish and classifying persons or things for the purposes of
legislation, which is what this case is all about. As a result of this inclusion of this policy,
approximately 12.73 Lakh students have scored more than the usual average. However, the students
of ICSE and CBSE boards are heavily affected. It is well settled that in applying Article 14
mathematical precision or nicety or perfect equanimity are not required. But in said situation where
the numbers and the policy is not in favour of the ICSE and CBSE students, in terms of strength;
some relaxation must be granted.

Article 14 prohibits hostile discrimination and not reasonable classification for the purpose of
legislation. The “Best of Five” policy is case of the former. The state education board could have
thought about other alternatives to ensure the competitiveness of the students. The relaxation in
the evaluation system is a much unplanned attempt to sort the matter. Any person invoking Article
14 of the constitution must show that there has been discrimination against a person who is similarly
situated or equally circumstanced. 4 The petitioners in this case have proved this not once, but thrice,
in the last 3 years.

The government must understand the importance of not getting subdued by other parties such as
the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena, which plan on sorting the mess, the latter by
filing an intervening affidavit.

In such an important matter, which leaves 16 Lakh students in a dilemma, the state should not have
opted for a system that increases tensions between the boards. Citing the depression of the
students is not a factor enough to fuel the argument, because it promotes inequality. A concrete
system must and is expected by the state education board in the next academic year.

Citing all the provisions and prohibitions in Article 14 of the Constitution of India, I strongly
recommend that the current policy of “Best of Five” be abolished and that a thorough analysis be
done as to why the students score much less than their ICSE or CBSE counterparts in the Class 10 SSC
exams. Boards must not have contradictory rules that result in the loss of precious time of students;
a settlement can also be reached by coordinating with one another to rewrite some norms that
benefit not the board, but the students, with no distinction whatsoever.

4
AIR 1980, SC 1382 (1405)
Works Cited
Agarwal, R. (1984). Modern Indian Constitution. S. Chand.

AIR 1980 (SC 1980).

Hindustan Times. (2010, June 21). Best of 5 Policy. Mumbai: Hindustan Times.

Jennings, S. W. Law of the Constitution. In S. W. Jennings, Law of the Constitution (p. 94).

Maharashtra Education Department Confident. (2010, June 9). Retrieved from

http://www.dnaindia.com: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_maharashtra-education-
department-confident-best-of-five-rule-will-be-a-success_1393771

OneIndia News. (2010, January 22). Maharshtra Education | SSC Students. Retrieved 2010, from
http://news.oneindia.in: http://news.oneindia.in/2010/01/22/best-of-five-option-for-maharashra-
ssc-students.html

Satish Chandra vs. The Union of India, 250 (SC 1953).

Thomas, S. (2010, June 11). No admissions till you convince us of best-5: HC. Retrieved from Times of
India: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6035043.cms