The International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) is a competitive examination open to students of all countries in the world, primarily studying in secondary schools. All basic subjects of Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics) are given roughly equal representation in the IJSO examination.
Beginning the year 2008-2009, the National Olympiad Programme includes Junior Science also.
Stages
The Junior Science Olympiad program will follow the following 5 stages:
- Stage I: National Standard Examination in Junior Science (NSEJS).
- Stage II: Indian National Junior Science Olympiad (INJSO),
- Stage III: Orientation cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in junior science,
- Stage IV: Pre-departure Training Camp (PDT) for IJSO,
- Stage V: Participation in International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO).
Stage I will be entirely the responsibility of IAPT. All the remaining stages will be organized by the HBCSE.
The detailed information about eligibility and structure of the stages is given below:
Stage I: National Standard Examination in Junior Science (NSEJS)
NSEJS is the first stage of selection of students in the Junior Science Olympiad Programme. NSEJS is organised by the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT). Every student aspiring to go through successive stages of the programme must enroll for NSEJS. NSEJS is held at a large number of centres in the country.
Date of NSEJS 2013: 24 November 2013 (Sunday)
Time of NSEJS 2013: 03:00 pm to 05:00 pm
Last Date for Enrollment for NSEJS: 15 September 2013
Eligibility (NSEJS):
All Indian students who are born on or after January 1, 1999 and, in addition, are in Class X or lower as of November 30, 2013, are eligible to appear in NSEJS 2013 – 2014. If they qualify in the NSEJS, they will be eligible for subsequent stages leading to participation in International Junior Science Olympiad 2014.
It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the eligibility criteria are satisfied. In case at any stage of the program it is found that the student does not satisfy the eligibility criteria, he/she may be disqualified from the program.
Syllabus:
The syllabus for NSEJS will be broadly equivalent to the secondary school level (upto Class X) of CBSE. The different basic subjects of science (physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics) will have roughly equal emphasis.
This is only a broad guideline, and there is no detailed syllabus given for NSEJS.
Question Paper:
NSEJS will emphasize comprehension of the subject, not rote memory. Its format will be as follows:
The question paper will consist of 80 multiple choice questions, each with only one of the four options correct.
Language : English.
Qualifying for the Second Stage:
The aim of the first stage examination is to have a wide reach, to progressively increase this reach and to attain nationwide representation for stage II without overly compromising on merit. Hence the selection to the stage II examinations i.e. Indian National Olympiad Examinations (INOs) is based on the following scheme.
- Eligibility Clause: A candidate must secure a score equal to or greater than a Minimum Admissible Score (MAS) to be eligible for the Stage II INO exam leading to the International Olympiad . The MAS for a given subject will be 40% of the maximum score in that subject.
- Proportional Representation Clause: The number of students selected for Stage II (INO) in each subject is around 300. The number of candidates who appeared for NSE in 2011-12 in a subject from centers in each State or Union Territory (UT) will be considered the baseline for calculating the number qualifying from centers in that State or UT for that subject. Suppose this number in 2011-12 for centers in a given State in a given subject is S, and the total number that appeared in 2011-12 in that subject for the country is T, then the number selected to Stage II in that subject from that State would be S/T times 300, rounded off to the nearest higher integer. In the event of a tie at the last position in the list all students with the same marks at this position will qualify to appear for the Stage II examination. The selected students must nevertheless satisfy the eligibility clause laid out above. The total number to be selected from centers in each State for each subject will be displayed on the IAPT and HBCSE websites.
- Minimum Representation Clause: Notwithstanding the proportional representation clause the number of students selected for INO from each State and UT must be at least one, provided that the eligibility clause is satisfied.
- Merit Clause: Given the eligibility clause, it is conceivable that 300 students may not qualify for Stage II in a subject. Should this occur, the shortfall (from 300) will be selected based purely on merit without further consideration to proportional representation and minimum representation clauses. In the event of a tie at the last position in the list all students with the same marks at this position will qualify to appear for the Stage II examination.
There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to the Indian National Olympiad Examinations (INOs).
All students who qualify to appear for INJSO get a certificate of merit from IAPT.
For any queries or clarifications and for any difficulties regarding enrollment for NSEJS, please contact:
Stage II: Indian National Junior Science Olympiad (INJSO)
INJSO will be organized by HBCSE at about 15 centres in the country.
Eligibility: Students selected from Stage I examination (NSEJS) are eligible to appear for INJSO. In addition those students who have been exempted as described in the Enrollment page are also eligible to appear for INJSO. Besides these two ways, there is no other way by which a student becomes eligible to appear for INJSO.
The tentative date and time of INJSO 2014 examination is as follows:
February 01, 2014 (Saturday) : 01:00 pm — 04:00 pm (3 hours)
The confirmed date and schedule will be announced in the first week of January 2014 on this website and communicated by post to the eligible students. Students appearing for INJSO will be eligible for TA/DA as per norms of the programme.
Syllabus : The syllabus for INJSO will be broadly similar to NSEJS with emphasis on conceptual understanding and quantitative reasoning. The syllabus is, however, only a broad guideline. Questions and problems in National Olympiads are usually non-conventional and of high difficulty level, comparable to International Olympiads.
On the basis of performance in INJSO, the top 35 students in the merit list will be selected for Stage III: Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in Junior Science.
In the event, there is a tie at the last position, all students with the same marks at this last position will qualify for OCSC in Junior Science.
There will be no other criterion or provision for selection to OCSC.
Stage III: Orientation Cum Selection Camp (OCSC) in Junior Science
OCSC in Junior Science will be organized by HBCSE sometime in April to June 2014 for 2-3 weeks. The precise dates will be announced prior to or along with the announcement of the selection list for the OCSC.
Eligibility for OCSC : Only the students selected from the merit list of Stage II (INJSO 2014) will be eligible for OCSC 2014 in Junior Science. There will be no other criterion or provision.
The dates of OCSC 2014 will be announced later.
The camp will include several theoretical and experimental tests. Orientation will be provided to students especially in experiments. The camp will conclude with a valedictory function where distinguished scientists will be invited to speak to the students.
The merit list of OCSC in Junior Science will be prepared on the basis of the combined theoretical and experimental score aggregated over all the tests in the camp, with 60% weightage for theory and 40% weightage for experiment. Performance in previous stages (NSEJS and INJSO) will not be a consideration for the merit list and awards of the OCSC.
The top 6 in the OCSC Junior Science merit list will be declared to be special merit awardees. These special merit awardees will be given Rs. 5,000 each in the form of books and cash. In addition, there will be special prizes to recognize meritorious performance in theory and experiments.
The 6 special merit awardees in Junior Science selected at the end of the OCSC will constitute student team for the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO), provided they satisfy required criteria such as age limit, holding valid Indian passport, medical fitness, parental consent, etc.
Stage IV: Pre-departure Training (PDT) Camp for IJSO
The selected 6 member student team will undergo a rigorous training programme at HBCSE in theory and experiment. Special laboratories are being developed at HBCSE for the purpose of experimental training. Resource persons from HBCSE and different institutions across the country will train the students.
Stage V: Participation in International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO)
The 6 student member team and 3 teacher leaders will constitute the delegation to represent India at the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) 2014.
The 11th IJSO will be held in Netherlands December 2014.