The NCO is a competitive exam for pupils in grades 1 to 10. The Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) organises the competition. SOF is an educational organisation that specialises in conducting competitive academic exams and promoting healthy competition among pupils. The exam allows students to explore their interest in branches of technology, like computer science and internet security.
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Purpose of NCO Examination
NCO is an internet security competitive exam for students of various classes. The exam’s major goal is to increase youth’s knowledge of cyber security and computers, as well as to create a platform to help students to learn more about computers and information technology. Pupils of different age groups and classes appear for the exam. The following are a few of the examination’s goals.
- To inspire students to have an interest in cyber security.
- To develop computer skills and knowledge starting from the elementary school level.
- To train pupils for the technical skills required in today’s digital environment.
Registration of Exam
Students in grades 1 to 10 are eligible to take the SOF NCO exam. All SOF-registered schools receive a prospectus containing registration forms. Schools that have not yet registered may request a brochure by sending an email to the official mailing address or calling the office. By the due date, schools must submit the registration forms to SOF, duly filled out and accurate in all respects.
School Registration
The school’s coordinating teacher should complete the School Registration Form (SRF) and Students’ Registration Sheet (SRS) according to the instructions and submit them to the SOF’s office before the deadline. SOF will register the applicant’s school and students using the Students’ Registration Sheet (SRS) provided by the school and will assign roll numbers to each student.
- The foundation will register the applicant’s school and pupils, as well as send out question papers and instructions for administering the exam.
- The institution does not have to pay a fee to become a registered examination centre.
- For SOF NCO, a minimum of 5 students can register from each school.
Registration Fees
A small amount of fee is paid by the candidates who are participating in the examination. The NCO registration is completed when the candidate pays the registration fee.
- A one-time registration fee of Rs 125 (including GST) per student is required. Schools in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal pay SOF per olympiad to cover the expense of the examination.
- To compensate for the honorarium of the in-charge, instructor salaries, and other expenses, schools may charge an additional Rs 25 per pupil.
- Students with severe physical disabilities or Indian students whose parents lost their lives in a defence operation are exempt from paying the fee.
Highlights of the Examination
It is also one of the prominent olympiad exams that emphasise computer and reasoning skills. The pattern for the SOF National Cyber Olympiad is as follows:
- The test is held in the participants’ respective schools during school hours.
- The exam comprises 35 objective-type questions for Classes 1 to 4 and 50 objective-type questions for Classes 5 to 10. The total duration of the exam is 60 minutes.
- The question paper consists of three sections:
Section 1 Logical Reasoning
Section 2 Computers and Information Technology
Section 3 Achievers Section
- The exam is conducted on different dates and each date will have a separate set of question papers.
- The test is conducted in English.
- Syllabi from the CBSE, ICSE/ISC, and state boards are used to frame the exam papers.
