Career Hotline
Improving Class XII results
Pervin Malhotra

Q Although I was expecting much more, I have scored only 49 per cent marks in the Class XII (CBSE) boards. Should I appear for the exam again and how do I go about it? I am very confused and depressed.

— Gurcharn Singh

A Board results are not always a true mirror of a student’s abilities. At times, they can be very unpredictable.

You have several remedial options to choose from:

First of all, you must apply for verification of your CBSE marks within 21 days of the declaration of results.

If in Delhi, you can collect and deposit your application form for rechecking of marks and fees (Rs. 100 in cash (per subject) at designated schools. These forms are not available at the CBSE office directly. The forms can also be downloaded from the CBSE website www.cbseresults.nic.in

Those outside Delhi can obtain the verification forms from the CBSE Regional Office or the schools. You can also use a photostat format of verification form or download from the CBSE website.

However, remember that verification does not mean that your answer sheet will be physically revaluated. It only ensures that your supplementary copies have been tagged and your marks have been properly totalled.

Secondly, you can appear for the Class XII exams as a private candidate from your own school or directly from the CBSE. However, you will have to surrender your previous marks, so make sure your performance is really good this time.

Check with your own school or from your state board for details.

You can also appear for the CBSE Class XII exam through Patrachar Vidyalaya (D/o Education, Govt. of NCT of Delhi). The Delhi Senior Secondary Exam is conducted by the CBSE for students studying through correspondence in all three streams. Details: www.delhigovt.nic.in. Check with your State Department of Education on your state government’s website.

Personal contact programmes are held on Sundays and other gazetted holidays as well as in the autumn break at several schools all over the city.

The third option is to take the Class XII exam through the National Institute of Open Schooling. NIOS provides you an opportunity to study and clear a subject in which you may have fared poorly either in high school or the plus two of the CBSE syllabus. Exams are conducted twice a year in May and November. You can appear in as many subjects as you like at a time. Incidentally, you are permitted as many as 9 attempts.

The fourth option is to go for a bachelor’s degree through distance learning offered by DU’s Campus of Open Learning. If you do really well in the first year, you can even hope to migrate to a full-time course in the second year.

Also, even if you were to complete your graduation entirely through distance learning, your degree certificate will not mention anything to that effect. Moreover, a good percentage at the graduation level will compensate for a relatively poor performance at the school level.

Of course, the latter option may not be the ideal one for you if your heart is set on pursuing a professional course like engineering, medicine or architecture straight after Class XII which cannot be done through correspondence or pursued at the postgraduate level unlike some other professional courses e.g. MBA, MCA, Mass Com, Law, etc. which are open to students of all streams.

Incidentally, over 1 lakh students of Class X and 37,500 of Class XII took the compartment exams last year.

A case in favour of law

Q I have done LL.B from Amritsar. I am planning to do MBL (Masters of Business Law) from National Law School, Bangalore. I want to know the prospects of an MBL degree holder. Am I eligible to work as a corporate lawyer in India?

— Karamjit Singh

A With an MBL distance-learning course you can do all the legal tasks, including work as a corporate lawyer. Also, as per The Bar Council of India rules, since you hold a prescribed LL.B. degree — which I assume is recognised by the BCI — you are eligible to appear in a Court of Law.

However, the MBL is more than LL.B in content, minus the Court ‘practicals’ and perhaps even more than LL.M, which has a narrow specialisation when compared with MBL. Which is why an MBL is preferred over any other graduate degree, as s/he specialises in as many as 10 areas which are pertinent to the business community. As an MBL graduate, you can work as a Law Officer / Legal Assistant / Legal Adviser in all the areas of business requirement. You will be preferred for posts in banks, factories, industrial houses, companies, railways, commerce and Trade Departments of Government, Central or State Government Offices, other statutory bodies of the Central or state government.

If you can’t complete the course within the prescribed 2 years, you can complete it in another three years. However, you will have to pay a continuation fee of Rs.2500 p.a. This will enable you to retain your enrollment for a maximum period of 5 years.

There are no study / exam centres outside Bangalore.

During the 6-day theory and viva exams, outstation students are provided hostel accommodation, at moderate rates. Attendance in the Contact Class Programme is optional.

The writer is a noted career consultant

Please send in your query, preferably on a postcard, along with your full name, complete address and academic qualifications to: Editor, Jobs and Careers, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030, or at careers@tribunemail.com