Bhubaneswar, June 18: Plus Two in school or college? It’s a tough call for several students, who took provisional admission in Class XI in various schools much before their Class X exam results were announced, unsure if they could land a science seat in their dream college.

“I enrolled in a school in April because it would have been too risky to wait for junior college admissions, which started only a fortnight ago. Most of my friends have done the same, considering intense competition for science seats. But with 94 per cent marks, I am expecting a call from reputable colleges such as BJB. I don’t know if I should take it or skip it,” said Soumyajit, a Class XI student of a city school.

Many students like him are confused whether they should continue their education in school or explore college life in case they make it to the merit list for state Plus Two admission slated to be out on June 21.

Principal of BJB Junior College Shuvada Mohanty said studying in top-notch colleges had its own charm and provided better exposure than schools.

“When you get selected for BJB or Ravenshaw, you don’t think twice because they have the best of teachers in the state. The syllabus, too, has been overhauled to suit the requirements of competitive exams. However, due to erratic exam schedules and evaluation, I understand many parents and students are apprehensive about opting for Plus Two colleges. Schools have a disciplined environment but colleges make you more independent,” said Mohanty.

However, unlike colleges, schools provide integrated career coaching and guidance to students under the same roof, argued counsellor of Sai International School Arundhati Sudhir.

“The syllabus in CBSE schools is in sync with competitive exam pattern. So, students will obviously be better prepared. Further, more children are interested to continue their Plus Two in school as they find a wide range of subjects on offer, which was not the case earlier,” she said.

Principal of DAV Public School (Chandrasekharpur) K.C. Satpathy agreed. He said Plus Two was supposed to be attached to high schools but the state government, due to paucity of funds, has not been able to do so.

“Colleges cannot match up to schools as far as faculty or facilities are concerned. They are plagued by teaching vacancies and do not have quality laboratory facilities. Besides, there are 100 to 150 students in a single class. So, one cannot expect teachers to pay attention to every student,” Satpathy said.

Former principal of BJB Junior College S.N. Mohanty said meritorious students always prefer colleges to schools, especially for science education.

“The curriculum is almost the same now. On the state board, the academic standard is better but scoring marks is a bit difficult, while in CBSE or ICSE schools, it is easier to score but the quality of education is not that good,” he said.

On the other hand, academic R.N. Panda said students should inspect the campus before taking admission so that they are not cheated.

“Private colleges are losing favour with students due to corrupt practices. Though government colleges charge low fees, the number of working days is also less. Plus Two in school is very expensive as they are collaborating with coaching centres and demanding exorbitant fees for extra classes,” Panda said.