SOUTH
Okay. Pencils at the ready.
With which country has Nepal signed a MoU to ease the fuel crisis?
Where has the eighth edition of National Seed Congress (NSC) begun?
Who is the new chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)?
These are not questions from the iconic Karnataka Quiz Association's (KQA) Mahaquizzer or MindSweep contests; these aren't from this year's UPSC exam either.
These are questions six-year-old, Class I, yes you read that right, CLASS ONE kids have to answer in the Karnataka ICSE Schools Association (KISA) talent search exam.
Tell you what, the kids who ace this test ought to be running this country, not running around playgrounds or parks.
At the very least, they could take control of India's education policy and boot out the boffins at the Council For The Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) who came up with this idea.
Every year, KISA organises a talent search exam for students from Class I to X. The students are quizzed in math, geography, history, English and current affairs.
Like any other talent exam, students are expected to study, err, mug up content from 'model question' booklets such as the one pictured.
A Bengaluru parent Sahana Rao tweeted the picture with an appropriately pithy comment.
At an age when the kids cannot even count the money in their piggy bank, the Karnataka chapter of ICSE expects them to know about the existence of World Bank and its functions.
And we are willing to bet a Big Mahatma that questions such as who the new chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs is, won't elicit the correct answer even from the babus in the finance ministry.
"Until last year, many kids maxed out the exam which made it difficult to judge their talent. To increase the difficulty level of the exam, we added complex questions which were beyond the knowledge of students," PT Joseph, a member of the committee that framed the syllabi for KISA Talent Search Exam told Asianet Newsable.
The preparatory booklet, according to KISA, is designed by a committee of teachers drawn from the prominent ICSE schools in Karnataka. Clearly, parents snobbish about sending their kids to the academically 'superior' ICSE schools should be worried.
"I agree that the questions in the booklet are tough but we won't be asking these questions in the upcoming exam [small mercies]. Nearly 60-70% of the questions in the exam will be set according to the academic level of the various age groups," added Joseph.
"The talent search exam is not for competition. The purpose of the exam is to aid scholastic development. Students are awarded certificates for faring well," said B Gayathri Devi, KISA secretary and principal, Little Flower Public School, Bengaluru.
This year, KISA Talent Search Exam will be conducted on September 1 and September 9. Be warned.
Take this test meant for Class I students to see if you make the cut.
The first five all correct (unGoogled, unWikied) entries will receive Asianet Newsable hampers!
Send in the answers to
1. Name the winner of the New York Global Leaders Dialogue Humanitarian Award 2015
2. Where is the institute for Defence Studies and Analysis located?
3. Name the new President of Tanzania?
4. Servo Surjit Tournament is related with
5. What is Yutu?
6. Who has been elected the first women President of Nepal?
7. Which Indian state has announced provision of 33% reservation to women in government jobs?
8. With which country has Nepal signed a MOU to ease the fuel crisis?
9. According to the freedom on the Net 2015 report, which country gives maximum freedom to its citizens on internet?
10. Which state has launched Panipuravatha Sanjeevani Yojana?
11. Where has the eighth edition of National Seed Congress (NSC) begun?
12. National unity day is observed on
13. Who is India’s new high commissioner to UK?
14. What is Chapala?
15. Many states organised run for Unity Marathon on
16. Delhi has introduced EC charge what is the meaning of C in it?
17. Who is the new chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)?
18. What is the name of naval exercise between Sri Lanka and India?
19. Which country has topped the best of World Bank’s 2016 ranking of ease of doing business list?
20. Which country’s parliament has passed the cyber security legislation recently?
(With inputs from TN Vasudeva Murthy)