CBSE board exam: After adopting a new system for the distribution of board exam papers in examination halls in a bid to clamp down on incidents of paper leaks, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is now said to be planning a revamp of the paper pattern for classes 10 and 12. According to a report by Times of India, the central board is planning to change the examination pattern of Class 10 and 12 papers starting 2020. This change will also include vocational subjects.
Once this change is put in practice, the tests conducted for vocational subjects will be conducted earlier, possibly in the month of February, after which their results will also be declared early as compared to the test of the other subjects.
CBSE is bringing the change in the exam pattern to test the analytical abilities of the students and are also aiming to reduce the scope of rote learning among them. According to a senior Human Resources and Development ministry official quoted in the report, the new pattern paper will include more problem-solving questions. The official further said that there will be more short answer questions for 1 to 5 marks.
He added that the stress of the new exam pattern paper will be “on probing the critical thinking abilities of students and test actual learning outcomes rather than allow students to score high marks by virtue of rote.”
The official further said that the board will take another 3-4 months in order to solidify this new plan. However, the board is already working to make the changes in the board exam paper pattern from 2020.
Meanwhile, new ‘CBSE bylaws’ have been submitted by the board to the HRD ministry for approval. These bylaws state that academic quality of institutions will be the focus during affiliation/renewal of schools. The board will depend on the report submitted by the respective state education department for the inspection of infrastructure in schools.
Moreover, to provide some relief to students from over a month-long stress due to the board examination that continues till mid-April, the board is looking forward to completing them in the month of March itself. This will give them time to evaluate the answer sheets in a better way and declare results earlier than usual.
“The exams for vocational subjects, where the number of students is significantly lower, can be conducted in February so that the exams for other subjects can be completed in around 15 days in the month of March,” the official said.