Cuttack, May 8: Orissa High Court has asked the state government to explain the differences between the syllabus prescribed by Odisha Council of Higher Secondary Education and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for Class XI and XII.

The court also asked the CHSE to clarify the discrepancies and suggest remedies on May 12. It was hearing a PIL on alleged inadequacies in course contents of Odisha Board of Secondary Education (BSE) and CHSE (Plus Two Board).

The court registered the PIL after taking suo motu cognisance of the concern expressed by members of the bar on the basis of media reports that "unless the course content of the board and the council are brought in tune with the syllabus prescribed by the CBSE, the students passing from vernacular high schools and Plus Two educational institutions in Odisha do not stand a chance in the all-India competitive examinations pertaining to admissions in the MBBS and BTech courses".

The CBSE was also made a party in the PIL. Secretary of the BSE Barun Kumar Palit had filed an affidavit conceding the gap between syllabus of BSE and CBSE. Secretary of the CHSE Gyanaranjan Mohanty, who was present in person when the matter came up for hearing on Thursday, also accepted the difference between Plus Two Board and CBSE Class XI and XII course.

"Taking note of it, the division bench of acting Chief Justice Pradip Mohanty and Justice Biswajit Mohanty posted the matter to May 12 for hearing along with the report of the secretary of CHSE on the discrepancies between the course content of the syllabus of the state Plus Two Board and CBSE Class XI and XII," CBSE counsel Tarananda Patnaik said today.

"The court has also sought the submission of the CBSE syllabus on that day," Patnaik said.

The PIL assumes significance as there is a growing perception that the CBSE curriculum is ideally suited for all-India competitive examinations as it helps students to crack examinations for admissions to BTech and MBBS courses.

The CBSE Class XI and XII curricula make students ready for competitive examinations as it is formulated keeping the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for MBBS and BTech courses.

Many experts feel that the BSE and the CHSE course contents still need to be revamped to prepare the students for competitive examinations.