Junior Science Olympiad Program

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.

Stage I

NSEJS is the first stage of selection of students in the Junior Science Olympiad Programme. NSEJS is organized 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 centers in the country.

Eligibility (NSEJS): All Indian students who are born on or after January 1, 1997 and, in addition, are in Class X or lower as of November 30, 2011, are eligible to appear in NSEJS 2011 – 2012. If they qualify in the NSEJS, they will be eligible for subsequent stages leading to participation in International Junior Science Olympiad 2012. 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. 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: Based on performance in NSEJS, the top 300 students in order of merit qualify to appear for the Second Stage of the Olympiad programme INJSO. In case there is a tie at the last position, all students with the same marks at this last position qualify for INJSO. All students who qualify to appear for INJSO get a certificate of merit from IAPT

Stage II

INJSO will be organized by HBCSE at about 15 centers 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 confirmed date and schedule will be announced in the first week of January 2012 on this website and communicated by post to the eligible students

Syllabus: The syllabus for INJSO will be broadly similar to NSEJS. 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

OCSC in Junior Science will be organized by HBCSE sometime in April to June 2012 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 2012) will be eligible for OCSC 2012 in Junior Science. There will be no other criterion or provision.

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 2012 will constitute the 6 member student team for the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) 2012, 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 2012

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) 2012

The 6 member student team and 3 teacher leaders will constitute the delegation to represent India at the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) 2012.

Disclaimer: The information contained hereinabove is provided as public service only and it should not be construed as educational, technical or other advice of any nature. To the maximum extent permitted by law, MKCL disclaims all representations and warranties, express or implied, with respect to such information. For updated information please visit Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education’s official website - http://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in/. MKCL will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of this Site, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental punitive and consequential damages. In addition, MKCL does not represent or warrant that the information accessible via this site is accurate, complete or current.