IN DEMAND: Delhi Public School (top) and Chinmaya School. File picture

Bokaro, May 30: The steel hub’s reputation as an excellent schooling destination is attracting students from neighbouring Bihar, Orissa and Bengal as well as distant districts of the state itself, with more than 20,000 applying for the 2,700 seats on offer for Plus II studies.

Though the CBSE Class X exam results are yet to be announced, the recent success of Bokaro students in the IIT entrance examinations and UPSC entrance tests has meant long queues for admission forms at all the well-known schools of the city.

According to adviser of Delhi Public School (DPS) Bokaro and State Women’s Commission chief Hemlata S. Mohan, more than 5,000 applications had already been received by the school for admission in Class XI, while seats available were 418. The story was the same at the premier Chinamya School, where acting principal Dr Ashok Kumar Singh said till date, 2,500 applications had been received for the 300 plus seats on offer. Schools began handing out admission forms two weeks ago and the rush of students is an indicator that cut-off marks would again be very high this year.

DPS Bokaro, Chinmaya, St Xavier’s, Pentacostal Assembly, Guru Govind Singh Public School, Ayappa Public School, MGM, Holy Cross, DAV, Bokaro Public School, Crescent Public School, Sardar Patel, Saraswati Vidya Mandir and ARS Public School are among the more sought after institutions in Bokaro, where securing admission for Plus II is considered tough with cut-off marks being anywhere between 85 per cent and 92 per cent.

Last year, the cut-off mark for DPS was 92 per cent. Most other schools refused to allot science to any student who had secured less than 85 per cent.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mohan said with 300 plus seats on offer in science and about 100 in commerce, taking students from outside was tough as most seats got taken by students of the school itself, making high cut-offs mandatory. “There are dozens of prospective candidates who would secure 92 per cent, making the school administration’s job that much tougher. More and more students from Bihar, Orissa, Bengal and Jharkhand have already arrived here for the admission process, which will start after the Class X results are announced in the next few days,” Mohan said.

Chinmaya School’s Ashok Kumar Singh said Bokaro not only had some of the best schools in the region, but also some of the best coaching centres for competitive examinations, making it an ideal destination for students hoping to crack the joint entrance tests for medical and engineering.

Director of Pentacostal Assembly School D.N. Prasad said his was the only prominent school in the city which offers arts as an option in Class XI. The school offers 150 seats for science and 50 each for arts and commerce, but more than 4,000 applications are received each year. “Bokaro is one of the best schooling centres in the eastern zone and that is why thousands of students from nearby states want to study here,” said Prasad, echoing Singh.

“Had there been hostel facilities in the city schools, the number of students would have been three times more,” said Hema Biswas, principal of ARS School.