XAT stands for Xavier Aptitude Test and is one of the country’s most popular MBA entrance exams. This entrance exam is taken by candidates who want admission in TAPMI, SPJIMR, XIMB, and XLRI 170+ colleges that offer MBA in India. Approximately 1 lakh candidates from various streams, including humanities, engineering, law, science, and commerce, apply to write XAT and get admitted to multiple MBA colleges.

Like any other exam, candidates go through a challenging study period to prepare rigorously for this entrance exam. However, with time the exam has become easier to attempt, which is a great relief for the candidates.

XAT and XLRI

XLRI or Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur, is the body that conducts and regulates the XAT exam for more than 70 years now. The exam is conducted at the country level to select the smartest and deserving students for this business management course. Read below to know more about XAT and XAT 2021 registration.

XAT Registration

The registration for this MBA entrance test is done through online mode only. The online application form for registration will be available from 12th September 2020, and the last day of registration will be 10th December 2020. Candidates must adhere to this deadline as no late entries will be entertained by the XLRI. Furthermore, candidates are also allowed to pertain to more than one academic program.

The GMP candidates are allowed to apply through GMAT or XAT. Below are a few pointers the candidate should keep in mind when registering for the XAT exam:

1. Fill the online form carefully. Double-check to verify each detail before the final submission as no last-minute changes are allowed.
2. Please note down the XAT password and ID for future reference.
3. Candidates must upload their signature and photo as per the given rules. Check the guidelines for the same.
4. Candidates need not mail a hard copy of the application form to the exam authorities.

Once the registration process, including the payment, is completed, the candidates will get their exam to admit card on 21st December 2020. It is advised that the candidates take a printout of the admit card and keep it carefully until the results are released.

XAT registration fee

A registration fee is charged for the XAT exam, which is both mandatory and nonrefundable. The XAT 2021 registration fee is as follows:-

1. For Indian students:

1. Through XAT- Rs. 1700 and a supplementary fee of Rs 300 for an additional XLRI program.
2. through GMAT- 2500

1. For NRI and Foreign Candidates:

1. Through XAT- $50 and a supplementary fee of $25 for an additional XLRI program.
2. Through GMAT- Rs. 5000 for any amount of programs.

Please note that the above amount doesn’t include any late fee, and the GMAT registration is open to GMP, NRI, and foreign candidates only. You can pay through credit cards, debit cards, mobile wallets, cash cards, and internet banking.

Eligibility criteria

A candidate must fulfil all of the below-mentioned criteria to be eligible to write the XAT 2021 exam.

1. XLRI has not set any age limit to appear for the XAT exam. Therefore, candidates across the age groups can attempt the exam.
2. Appearing candidates are also qualified to apply.
3. All candidates must have a bachelor’s degree from any stream or any other equivalent degree from an accredited and recognized university.

To conclude

The registration process can be exhausting. However, the candidate must do it correctly and well before the deadline. Follow the steps mentioned above for guidance.  All the best!

Check out more information related for XAT 2021 Exam at https://www.shiksha.com/mba/xat-exam

Pay after placement

Nowadays, universities offer a new type of MBA or PGDM program in which students can pay their fees only after placement. This pay after placement scheme is a revolutionary change brought in by institutions. Earlier students wishing to pursue MBA courses always had to be burdened by the high debt fee payment. Now colleges have started to take full responsibility for students as this method ensures that students are not unemployed after graduating and studying tension-free during their course. Good students who earlier due to financial risk and mistrust were not able to pursue MBA courses.

Universities have brought in this pay after the placement has tackled this student problem. This change also solves the problem of students remaining unemployed after graduating from the course. This revolutionary concept of pay after the placement has reduced the financial risk for students and encourages them to go for a lucrative career in the world of business. This shift in fee payment method is also industry-relevant and ensures the skill gap that obstructs the student’s path in getting good-paying jobs is also closed. This method of payment ensures that students have their careers secured right after taking admission into college.

MBA or PGDM: Which Has More Value?

In the world of business, doing a Management course is highly advantageous.MBA or PGDM equips candidates with the knowledge to tackle any problem with efficient and effective methods, methods which are taught at Management institutions. But usually, students wonder, MBA or PGDM, which has more value. Simply put, MBA or Master’s in Business Administration is a postgraduate degree course offered by universities, both government and private, and affiliated colleges. A postgraduate diploma in management or PGDM is a diploma awarded by an autonomous institution recognized by AICTE. Most of IIM’S offer PGDM courses, while some have started to offer MBA after the passing of the IIM act in 2017.

When deciding between MBA or PGDM, which has more value, candidates have to weigh in their personal goals. As there are many subtle differences between the two courses, candidates should know beforehand to go for admission into any course. The course duration for the MBA course is two years, and the course norms are university-dependent. That’s why the course structure is not revised regularly, as no changes in the course could be brought without university consent. This leads to a low intake of new market techniques into the curriculum. In contrast, PGDM courses are very flexible as the autonomous institutions are independent in structuring their curriculum, bringing in the latest research material and training techniques in sync with the market environment. So PGDM courses are revised more frequently than the MBA course.

The focus of the MBA course is more on inculcating business and technical acumen into students. Students are equipped with theoretical knowledge of the business. PGDM courses are focused on training the students to go for the feasible solution of actual business situations. PGDM makes a student that is highly adaptive and market-ready. In terms of fee comparison, MBA courses have fewer fees due to universities’ large budgetary capacity. PGDM course is slightly expensive because autonomous institution offering PGDM course is dependent on the fees for the upkeep of the institution

Moreover, both courses’ admission process is the same; candidates can go for national-level Management entrance exams like CAT or could apply directly through university-level entrance exams. The process to enter into any Management institution is really simple; the first step is the entrance test of direct application, group discussion, and personal interview. Candidates who have low marks in entrance exams should not worry if they are shortlisted for IIMs. A large number of colleges also take students without any requirement for CAT or other entrance exams. These institutions directly conduct GD/PI rounds.

The students of today’s generation have been born in the era of technology. The school going students are surrounded by smartphones, tablets, e-readers etc. Many schools are also focusing on classroom technology such as teaching through projectors etc. These all methods are adopted to provide quality education to the students in a better way. The main aim is to create interest among students for learning. Using all these technology methods are good for students but at the same time CBSE students should not forget the importance of learning from the NCERT books. Infact teachers and parents advise students to first study through the NCERT textbooks and then for more depth analysis to opt for the online sources.

When it is about choosing the appropriate study material for exam preparation students always get lost which one is better or useful. So, CBSE Class 10 and 12 students should take the decision of choosing the right material wisely so that they can score higher marks in their exam. For CBSE students, the correct study materials are NCERT textbook and also NCERT solutions available class wise as well as subject wise. For example, a student of Class 9 can refer to NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English beehive Chapter 1 to clear their doubts.NCERT solutions focus on fundamentals to help students with basic concepts.

While teaching students, teachers should remember that textbooks are a very important tool in the teaching arsenal. According to some teachers, learning through textbooks is outdated or insufficiently covers a topic or subject area. But, in a school environment, books are always there to guide students and pave the way how lessons and discussions inside the classroom will flow. In all CBSE affiliated schools, textbooks are designed by NCERT which is implemented across India.

Benefits of studying from NCERT Textbooks

The best way of learning is that students should first read the printed textbook. The NCERT textbook is being prepared by the subject professionals who hold deep knowledge in their respective field. The textbook of NCERT primarily focuses on enhancing the students’ learning skills. Students can find all the important study material such as detailed syllabus, e-books etc at the official NCERT website and can even download it for further study reference.

Here are a few benefits of studying from NCERT Books:

• The textbook is designed as per the curriculum.
• Textbooks help students to cover the entire syllabus efficiently.
• In the NCERT textbook students can get detailed information about the activities, experiments, and exercises related to the respective chapters. These activities and experiments will help them to get more clarity about the chapter.
• To be through with the concepts mentioned in the chapter, each chapter includes concept based questions at the end. These questions are crucial to solve as it will score good marks in your exam.
• If students want to get higher marks in their exam they need to be well-versed with their respective NCERT textbooks.
• To get a clear understanding of the concepts or topics students should read it by themselves before it is taught inside the classroom. But doing so, they can quickly grasp the concepts when the teacher explains it in detail.

We can end the article by saying that NCERT textbooks play a very significant role while exam preparation. It is a common tool of communication between students and teachers. It is an excellent teaching tool for both students and teachers. Students can also access solutions of NCERT textbook available on various online platforms. These solutions are solved by subject matter experts and students can refer to it while solving the textbook questions . These solutions are available for all the classes and subjects. For example, Class 9 students can get the solutions of Class 9 English Beehive textbook solved by education based websites. The solutions can be downloaded in pdf format free of cost.

If a student finds any topic more interesting and wants to learn more about it, then he/she can go to the school library or even get detailed information through the internet.

If you’re looking to attempt the IBPS PO examination and land a job as a probationary officer, you must be wondering what the salary is. As with other bank exams, there is a lot of jargon and abbreviations involved; these consist of allowances and other benefits.

This article breaks down the IBPS PO salary and lets you know what to expect as a probationary officer.

IBPS PO Salary

The salaries of bank employees are revised from time to time. The last time it was revised was in November of 2017, formed on the 11th bipartite settlement. Based on the settlement, there are different components to the PO salary. 

But first, you must learn about the basic salary. As per the 10th bipartite settlement, the IBPS PO basic pay is around 23,700 – (980*7) – 30,560 – (1145*2) – 32850 – (1310*7) – 42020. Let’s break this down. 

Initially, your base salary will be 23,700 per month. After seven years of service, your base salary will be 30,560. And it will get revised to 32,850 after two years. After seven more years, you can expect a package of 42,020.

Components of a PO Salary

As mentioned earlier, the components of a PO Salary are:

• HRA

The HRA or House Rent Allowance varies from city to city. It is usually between 7-8% of your base salary.

• Dearness Allowance

It is also known as DA and is a percentage of your salary you’ll receive from the government for your service. The allowance is revised every three months as per the All India Consumer Price Index Data.

• Special Allowance

You’ll be receiving 7.75% of your base salary as a special allowance. The amount is awarded for meeting specific requirements. It is exempt from any taxes, but savings are taxable.

• City Compensatory allowance

The CCA allowance can range from 0% to 4% based on the type of city you’re living in. If you live in Class X cities, you’re likely to have a higher CCA than Class Z cities. 

By doing the calculations, you’ll get the following figures for the first seven years of working as a PO:

• Basic Pay – 23,700
• Special Allowance – 1,836
• DA – 10,163
• CCA – 870
• HRA – 2133
• Total (without HRA) – 36,570
• Gross – 38,703

So for the first seven years, your gross salary will be around 38,703. Bank employees received a salary hike of almost 15% on the 11th bipartite settlement. So the gross will now be about 44,508. This depends on the bank you’re working with and your location of work.

SBI PO vs IBPS PO Salary

IBPS PO does the same job as an SBI PO. So you must be wondering if there’s a difference between their salaries. Yes, there is a significant difference. SBI offers a better compensation package to its employees than other banks.

SBI POs earn a minimum of 7.55 lacs per annum, depending on the place of posting. It can go as high as 12.93 lacs per annum. Basic pay for SBI probationary officers is around 27,620 per month. They’re also entitled to receive four extra increments at the time of joining. All of these push the monthly salary to over 60,000.

The subsequent bipartite settlement is expected to be in 2022. If things go well, then bankers will receive another 10-15% hike in their salary. So you can expect a higher wage from next year onwards.

You’ll find the allowances mentioned in your payslips. So, refer to them when you land your job as an IBPS probationary officer to get the exact details. It’s also advised to stay updated on the changes that could affect the IBPS PO salary. Many forums and websites publish such information regularly. Subscribe to them and go through the articles from time to time.

Due to the pandemic, schools have had no choice but to close. Children have to continue learning at home. Teachers continue to adjust to the situation and find ways to help students learn in their absence. This situation is more difficult for younger students. Therefore, enforced permanent online learning is not sustainable for the long-term. At some point, changes will guarantee that schools will reopen.

Some students were already having a hard time before the pandemic 

Not all students have the same mental capabilities. Some have learning disabilities. Even before the pandemic, they were already having a hard time understanding their lessons. Studying from home only worsened their situations and if it continues, they will be behind their group. Therefore, it doesn’t help to continue the online learning setup.

Play is essential

It is in children’s nature to play and build relationships with others. They are also learning how to improve their motor skills. Being at home all the time doesn’t help, it’s the reason schools exist in the first place. They allow children to develop holistically. Even students who excel academically might be behind in this aspect and need to be back in the real school setting. For now, you could consider installing sensory room equipment at home. It can be an exciting option for your children. If you have one at home, your children can continue playing and having fun.

Some parents can’t continue doing this

In the latest job reports, almost all those who lost their jobs were women, showing one of the worst impacts of online learning. Female employees have no choice but to resign from work to teach their children at home. More women will feel disempowered as this continues. Even if they are already at the height of their careers, they will have to make sacrifices. It is unfair to women and they should not be faced with this terrible decision.

Not everyone has similar resources

The online learning setup also highlights another flaw in the educational setting. Some students have more resources than others. Others are not so lucky and have to make the most of what they have. They might be hardworking and eager to learn but have limited resources. Even if the government tried to help, it’s still not enough to promote equity. Besides, online learning has already started, and it is too late to address these concerns now. There are still inequities in a regular classroom setting, some schools have better resources than others. However, the online learning setup is a worse situation for some students.

Hopefully, children will soon return to school. They deserve to have a better learning environment and you can try to help them in current times. Always be there to assist if they need help in dealing with academic challenges. You should be their number one cheerleader and encourage them in feeling they are capable of doing an excellent job despite what’s happening.