As part of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC) celebrations, Department of Chemistry, University of Kashmir is coordinating some national level competitions among the secondary and senior secondary level students in Kashmir Division in collaboration with the national level organizers. Among these two important events are the Australian National Chemistry Quiz, ANCQ-2011 and National Standard Examinations leading to the participation in The International Science Olympiad Competition.  Dr Altaf Hussain Pandith tells us about what these activities mean to the students.

Australian National Chemistry Quiz, ANCQ-2011: The United Nations designated 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry with the goals of increasing the public appreciation of chemistry in meeting world needs, increasing the interest of young people in chemistry and generating enthusiasm for the creative future of Chemistry.
    The organizer of the International Australian National Chemistry Quiz has plans to reach out to the Indian middle, high and secondary level students through an exciting event, ANCQ-2011 on 9th September, 2011, at 9 AM. The quiz is truly international with the participation of many prominent countries like Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Brunei, England, India and many others. Participation of the students of our schools in this quiz will go a long way in nurturing passion and interest for  chemistry in particular and Science in general, at elementary and secondary levels.
     The Quiz will be held at two junior levels, one is Class 7 and 8, and the other is Class 9 and10, and at two senior levels, Class11 and Class12. The Quiz will require a time slot of 70 minutes and the question paper will consist of 30 multiple choice questions. Answer will be recorded on a computer mark sense sheet. The students appearing in quiz will be required to bring a lead pencil (2B) only and a calculator, if sitting for the Senior Quiz. The schools can register themselves as quiz centers or can register their students at Department of Chemistry, University of Kashmir, before 15th August, 2011. The registration fee for each participating student is Rs.100.
Objectives: The primary objective of ANCQ is to promote the study of chemistry in schools by providing an experience to students that is stimulating and enjoyable, thus encouraging them to have greater interest in the subject. Further, to promote and encourage an awareness of the nature and relevance of chemistry amongst school students. Participation in the Quiz will help emphasizing the connection between the academic image of chemistry and its day to day application in the home, the environment and industry. This quiz will indicate to students the important role chemistry has to play in our society and encourage problem solving ability and observation, thereby, enabling them to perform better in doing questions based on higher order thinking skills (HOTS).
Philosophy of the Quiz: The quiz does not set out to test any specific science or chemistry syllabus. Iit is not designed to find the best chemistry student any way. This is designed to stimulate the younger students to realize the role chemistry plays in many of the fundamental processes in their science course, and in  many aspects of everyday life. On completion of the quiz, a substantial number of participants will receive  an award, however, in line with the philosophy of the quiz, no monetary prizes will be awarded for outstanding performance in the quiz. To avoid any difference in the syllabus among participating countries, all students compete on a grade and country only basis, i.e. an 8th class student only competes with an 8th class student from his/her own country.
Awards: Approximately 40% of all the participants receive a Certificate of Merit. 10% receive a High Distinction, 15% Distinction and 15% Credit. The certificates are designed and printed with the view that successful participants would be able to display the award. A special Certificate of Excellence will be awarded to students who achieve the perfect score of 100%. This consists of a certificate and  a plaque. An award of excellence - a plaque - will be awarded to the top 800 students. All students will only be competing with the students from the same level and the same country. 
National Standard Examination: The National Science Olympiad Programme aims at promoting excellence in science among pre-college students and selecting teams of students to represent India at the International Olympiads in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Astronomy. The International Olympiad is held for each subject once a year in different countries. In 2006, the Olympiads were held in Korea, Argentina and Singapore for chemistry, biology and physics respectively. The 2008 Olympiads were held in Budapest (Hungary), Vietnam and Mumbai (India) for chemistry, physics and biology respectively.
  India started participating in the International Mathematics Olympiad from 1989. The fact that the country has a large base of quality human resource in basic sciences coupled with the declining inclinations towards higher science, the scientific community realized the need to extend the participation to the arena of physics, chemistry, biology and astronomy as well. In 1997-98, Homi Bhaba Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), a national centre of TIFR and the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) jointly initiated the physics Olympiad programme in India. One year later, HBCSE extended the programme to chemistry and biology with the help of Indian Association Of Chemistry Teachers (IACT).These initiatives received strong support from the Department Of Atomic Energy (DAE), Department of Science And Technology(DST)  and the Ministry of Human Resource Development of the GOI. India sent its first team to the International Physics Olympiad in 1998, International Chemistry Olympiad in 1999 and International Biology Olympiad in 2000.The Science Olympiad Programme in India is financially supported by Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS, DAE), DST and MHRD.
The National  Olympiad Programme is a five stage examination process, of which the first stage is the National Standard Examination (NSE). All students of class 10th (NSEJS), class 11th and 12th (science stream) are eligible for NSEs and for further camps leading to participation in International Olympiads. A student has option to appear for more than one subject as per the examination schedule. The syllabus for NSEs is broadly equivalent to senior secondary level (class 11th and 12th) and 10th class for NSEJS. But, this is only a guideline as there is no particular syllabus for NSEs. The question paper of NSE in physics consists of two parts; part A contains 50 multiple choice questions consisting of (a) 40 questions, each with only one of the four options correct, and (b) 10 questions, each with any number of the four options correct and needs all correct answers to be marked to get credit. Part B consists of five short answer type questions or problems. The question paper of NSE in chemistry and biology is of two hours duration and consists of 100 multiple choice questions, each with only one of the four options correct. The students need to get enrolled up to 15th September, and the NSE examination is on 27th November, 2011. For each subject, the top 250-300 students on the basis of their national ranking in NSEs get a certificate of Merit and qualify for the Indian National Olympiad Examinations.

 (Dr Altaf Hussain Pandith teaches at the  Department of Chemistry, University of Kashmir)

Lastupdate on : Sat, 6 Aug 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 6 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 7 Aug 2011 00:00:00 IST