(From top) Ruttumbara Bidhar (right), a Class V student of Delhi Public School (Kalinga), Bhubaneswar who came second at the under-9 (girls) National Chess Championship in Ahmedabad, Students from various schools in the capital take part in a carnival at KIIT International School and students of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences appear for their Plus Two examinations in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph pictures

Chess champs

Ruttumbara Bidhar, a Class V student of Delhi Public School (Kalinga), Bhubaneswar, emerged champion in the Asian Youth Chess Championship in the under-10 (girls) category at Subic City, Philippines.

This nine-year old had earlier finished second at the under-9 (girls) National Chess Championship in Ahmedabad.

Ruttumbara, who started as the second seed in the tournament, won seven out of nine rounds and scored 7.5 points to bag a gold medal.

She had appeared in the Young Metro column of The Telegraph on Oct 22, 2010.

Besides Ruttumbara, six other chess players from the state had participated at the Philippines championship.

Of them, Sankalpa Baliyarsingh (under-10 boys) and Debasish Das (under-18 boys) bagged gold while both Rakesh Kumar Jena (under-10 boys) and Utkal Ranjan Sahoo of Rourkela (under-16 boys) finished in third place for bronze.

The other two little stars, Saina Salonika and Rakesh Kumar Nayak, struggled hard in the last few rounds to score over their respective opponents but missed the win by a whisker.

Morale boost

Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar, recorded cent per cent result for the third consecutive year in Plus Two exams conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE). More than 97 per cent of the students at KISS, a residential tribal institute here, came out with flying colours.

In what is being considered a big morale boost for the students of this tribal institute, those students who had not scored good marks in matric exams have passed with first division.

Significantly, five students from primitive tribal groups — Koya, Saura, Parenga, Paraja and Juang — passed in the three streams, - science, commerce and arts.

The state board Plus Two exam results had been announced on May 30. As per state figures this year, the pass percentage of students belonging to Scheduled Tribe (ST) category is 62.31 in arts, 56.81 in science and 59.93 in commerce.

Summer carnival

The fortnight-long summer camp at KIIT International School, Bhubaneswar, concluded with a gala carnival on May 29 — the closing day — on the school premises. More than 50 students from kindergarten to Class X from various schools of the city participated in the event.

After 14 days of dynamic learning through training workshops and fun events such as classical and modern dance, vocal and instrumental music, fine arts, craft, photography, documentary-making, acting, animation and robotics, the participants showcased their talents on the stage during the carnival.

One of India’s best-loved writers, Ruskin Bond was the chief guest on this occasion. He is also the brand ambassador of KIIT International School.

Inaugurating the grand function, Bond said summer camps provide a good platform for the students to indulge in extra-curricular activities and to express their creativity.

“These type of activities should be organised regularly by schools to make students proactive and be able to face challenges in future,” Bond said.

Study pattern

The state government is mulling over redesigning the Class X and XII syllabus and examination pattern on the lines of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to prepare students in government schools and colleges for competitive examinations. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has instructed the departments of higher education and school and mass education to examine the proposal and take necessary steps.

He also reviewed the scholarship schemes offered by the two education departments. Out of 16,500 scholarships provided during 2010-11, only 13,751 students could avail this. Naveen has asked the department officials to ensure that the scholarship schemes reach all meritorious students.

In another development, the CHSE officials have decided to reduce the number of questions in all six subjects for the next Plus Two exams. The paper will consist of 70 per cent objective questions and 30 per cent long questions.

Earlier the ratio was 60:40. Also, sample questions would be provided at the end of every subject textbook to give students an idea about the new question pattern.