Answer by Researcher byrd on Wed 14 Jan 2009 - 10:19 pm UTC:

Hi Aidan321, 

In order to be able to not only ask Indian applicants questions pertinent
to their educational background, but to properly understand the answers, it
would be helpful to know something about the educational system in India.
Here's just a brief overview: 

The Indian educational model follows the "10+2" pattern, which includes 5
years of Primary (ages 6-11), 5 years of Secondary (ages 11-15), and 2
years of Higher Secondary (ages 15-17). After that is the Graduation Level,
generally corresponding to a Bachelor's degree, with 4 years required for
Professional degrees, 5 for Medical and 3 for Arts & Commerce. After that
is the Post-Graduate level usually requiring 1 1/2 to 3 years depending on
the discipline. Class levels are frequently identified by Roman numerals,
as in Class X or Class XII. 

Of course you will be most concerned with the Graduation level and beyond,
but it is worth noting that students in India follow a "stream" in the
Higher Secondary level, much like high schools in the US used to follow a
"college prep" or "vocational/technical" emphasis. Also note that some
universities confer a 3-year Bachelor's degree, which in some situations
might correspond to a 4-year, but is generally not considered the same.

For further reference, I'd recomend you read up further on India's
educational system. There is some very good information at Wikipedia,
here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_India 

Here's are some additional sources tha give a good overview: 
www.unesco.org/iau/onlinedatabases/systems_data/in.rtf 
http://skillscommission.org/pdf/Staff%20Papers/A%20Profile%20of%20the%20Indian%20Education%20System.pdf
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/india/education.htm

So keeping the above in mind, some useful questions about an applicant's
educational background might include

Where did you go to school for Secondary and Higher/Senior Secondary? 
Did you attend a regular or vocational Higher/Senior Secondary
program/school? 
What stream did you follow in your 10+2? 
What was your average in Sec/HSec? 
Which examination did you take for your Higher/Senior Secondary
Certificate? 
What were your exam marks for XII graduation?
What was your final score for your Higher/Senior Secondary Certificate? 
What exam(s) did you take for college entrance?
What were your marks on your college entrance exams? 
Where did you attend college/university? 
Did you complete your graduation/post graduation education with the same
focus, or did you change? 
If you changed focus, what did you change from/to? 
Who was your college/university accredited by? 
What specific courses did you take 
What grading system did your university/college use and what was your
overall grade average?
In what subject/area did you have your best marks?
In what subject/area did you have your worst marks? 
What type of degree do you have, 3-year, 4-year or post-graduate? 
Did you receive any Honours or Distinctions? 
   If so, what were they?
How many languages do you have and what are they? 
Was any part of your education conducted solely in English? 
   If so, what part(s)? 
   If not, in what language did you complete your education?  
What is your level of proficiency in English (other language), including
reading, writing and spoken word?
Have you used English in any setting other than school? 
   If so, where and how? 


I hope the information provided is helpful and what you were looking for.
If not, or you need further assistance, please Request a Clarification and
I'll be happy to respond. Thank you. 

Regards, 

Byrd