The easy scoring is said to have come at the cost of in-depth studying. There are complaints that the lapse is clearly showing at the pre-university level, with a large number of students lagging behind owing to their flawed grasp of the basics.

The Department of Pre-university Education has decided to conduct a bridge course to help PU students raise their standards and make the grade.

The circular
In a recent circular to all government and aided pre-university colleges across the State, the Commissioner has asked the institutions to conduct a test based on SSLC syllabus for students to be admitted to I PU course in the coming academic year 2008-09. Keeping the students’ score in the test as the yardstick, the colleges have been told to conduct a bridge course for them from the beginning of the academic year itself.

The bridge course classes will have to be conducted before regular classes every day. Meanwhile, lecturers have been directed to ensure that the bridge course helps the students make sense of I PU syllabus. A similar exercise will be taken up for II PU students as well.

College principals have been put in charge of the bridge course and have been directed to submit progress reports to the deputy directors concerned. The Commissioner has also sought the co-operation of lecturers in improving the communicative skills of the students as they are crucial for career prospects.

With the II PU exams scheduled to begin on March 17, the commissioner has also instructed the colleges to take supplementary and remedial classes for the students, Kannada medium students from rural areas in particular, as an initiative to boost the results that are hovering between 42 per cent and 53 per cent. The commissioner has said it the responsibility of lecturers and the principals to make sure their students attain the required levels.