Times Scholars Programme 2019

About Times Scholars Programme 2019

WHAT IS TIMES SCHOLARS ? The Times Scholars programme 2019 is an endeavor to encourage school students of classes X to XII to develop a reading habit that helps them develop a holistic understanding of our society, the environment, and an informed worldview, enabling them to become good citizens and write a better future for themselves.

REWARDS AND RECOGNITION AFTER THE FINAL ASSESSMENT :

* For Class XII: The best performing 100 students to be awarded a Dell laptop each. Selected students from Class XII will also be eligible for admission in the undergraduate courses at Bennett University with a scholarship applicable for 1 year. The students will need to fulfill the eligibility criteria of the University.

* For Class X and XI: The best performing 100 students to be awarded a Dell laptop each.

ELIGIBILITY

Students of classes X to XII can apply for this programme in two different levels, which are defined below. These levels constitute two categories in which participants will be evaluated.

* Level 1 – Students from Classes X and XI
* Level 2 – Students of Classes XII

The programme is free for all candidates. There is no registration fee.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Registration : As a first step, candidates need to register online for the programme

. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Reading Phase : Beginning October 25, The Times of India newspaper will carry ONE article each day, in its print version, across a range of fields such as current affairs, science & technology, sports, politics, social issues, education, global developments etc. over a span of 50 days. These articles will provide multi- dimensional perspectives to help students get a deeper understanding of various interesting subjects. The articles will have a label reading TIMES SCHOLARS.

Practice Tests and Presentations : Weekly practice tests will be conducted online, with questions based on the article. Twice during the programme, candidates will be asked to summarize articles and share their view in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, which they can upload on the site. Each practice test will comprise 3 stories, each with 6 questions, to be answered in 15 minutes.

Final Examination 😀 uring Dec 21-23, 2019, there would be an online test followed by an interview to assess the students’ understanding & perspective. The test will comprise 11 stories, each with 6 questions, to be answered in 60 minutes.

First Shortlist and Interviews :The First Shortlist of the programme will be decided basis the cumulative score i.e. participation marks in the practice tests and presentations + marks achieved in the final examination. The best performers, in terms of the cumulative score, will need to appear for an interview in person.

Winners and felicitation : For each of the two levels (as mentioned in the Eligibility criteria mentioned earlier), 100 winners will be chosen as winners. A select number will be invited to a felicitation ceremony whose details will be communicated later.

EVALUATION

During the Reading Phase :

* 6 practice tests will be conducted in the course of the reading phase of the programme.
* On 2 occasions, candidates will be asked to summarize stories and upload/send their summaries in a PowerPoint format.
The dates and timing of these tests and presentations will be communicated in due course.
* Each practice test and presentation carry 1 mark for PARTICIPATION. This * mark will be counted as part of the cumulative score calculated after the final examination. Missing either a practice test or a presentation deadline will mean that 1 mark is forfeited.
* Thus, participation in all the practice tests and presentations will give the candidate 8 marks.
* Candidates who miss taking part in either a practice test or a presentation are still eligible to appear in the final examination.
* The practice tests and presentation modules will be entirely online.

Final Examination :

* Candidates will be divided into different slots for the final examination, which will be entirely online.

* The date and time of the slot will be communicated to the candidates later.

* The final examination will assume that candidates have read and internalized the ‘Times Scholars’ stories appearing in TOI in the preceding 50 days.

* The final examination will involve going through 11 TOI stories, each of which will have 6 questions linked to it i.e. a total of 66 questions – to be answered in 60 minutes.

* Each question will carry 2 marks i.e. a total of 132 marks for the exam.

Cumulative score :

* Cumulative score = Participation marks earned for the Practice tests and presentation modules + the marks achieved in the final examination.

* In case of a tie in the scores, the time taken to complete the final examination will also be used for evaluation, with the candidates who take the least time making it to the shortlist.