Olympiads
Every year over 68000 schools from 48 countries register for the 7 Olympiad exams and millions of students appear in them.Current
Annually, about 5 million students take part in each of the following Olympiad exams: * National Cyber Olympiad (NCO) is a single level exam. It was the second Olympiad conducted by SOF. It has been conducted since 2000. Students from class I-X may participate in the examination. * National Science Olympiad (NSO) is conducted at two levels each year. It was the first Olympiad conducted by SOF. It has been conducted since 1998. Students from class I-XII may participate in the examination. * International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) is conducted at two levels each year. Students from class I-XII may participate in the examination. * International English Olympiad (IEO) used to be a single level exam each year, but since 2017–2018 it is conducted at two levels. Students from class I-XII can participate in this Olympiad. * International General Knowledge Olympiad (IGKO) is a single level exam. Students from classes I-X may participate in the examination. This Olympiad was introduced in the 2017–2018 academic session. * International Commerce Olympiad (ICO) is a single level exam. Students from classes XI and XII may participate in the examination. It is conducted in partnership withFormer
* National Cyber Olympiad Level-2 (NCO) was formerly a two-level exam, but it has been converted to a single level exam since 2017–18. * International Sports Knowledge Olympiad (ISKO) was conducted only once, during the 2016–2017 session. It was a single level exam conducted in partnership with Star Sports in which students of classes 1 to 10 could participate.Eligibility and pattern
Students from classes 1 through 12 can participate. The exams consist of 35Controversies
Although being a non-governmental organisation it works on a profit-making model and charges heavily for its books and study materials. Silver Zone Foundation, a similar 14-year-old Olympiad company, rakes in 50% of its revenues from book sales and the rest from exam registration fees (at Rs 120 per student). Close to a million kids from 5,000 schools have been sitting their Olympiads every year, claims CEO Kamal Kishore. Questions are deliberately asked from their own books which are not according to state prescribed board syllabi which compel students to buy their expensive books. The foundation has been criticized by Anwesh Mazumdar, national coordinator, Science Olympiads from the academics at Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education saying, "It is a misrepresentation to call a competition an Olympiad if it has no culmination on the international stage." He argues that the original science Olympiads — the first was in Maths held in Romania in 1959 — pursue nobler goals of intellectual inquiry. "These companies should not call it an 'Olympiad'; call it a competition if necessary. For example, the International Mathematical Olympiad is the real deal, but Science Olympiad Foundation, a private organisation, has an exam called the International Mathematics Olympiad, parents are misled and even the international organisers are concerned," says Mazumdar, adding that they have contemplated patenting the name. There have been demands for government intervention to regulate the exams. Ashok Pandey, director at Ahlcon International School in Delhi, admits that private Olympiads need to be better regulated. "I had initially decided not to host them, but gave in when parents insisted," says Pandey.References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.sofworld.org Foundations based in India Educational organisations based in India