Schools across country are happy with the changed CBSE exam pattern and are preparing students for the same.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced to change the Class 10, 12 board exam pattern from this year by conducting it in two sets, first between November and December and the other between March and April 2022. The decision has been taken to prepare for any “unprecedented situation” that could arise because of the COVID-19 pandemic next year.
Last year CBSE had to cancel some of the papers in March during the first wave of coronavirus pandemic, while this year also it had to cancel the board examinations because of the second wave of COVID-19. For the examinations to be conducted in 2022, it has decided to have two sets of examinations for classes 10 and 12, with each covering half the syllabus.
As per a statement issued by the CBSE, the syllabus for the academic session 2021-22 will be divided into two terms by following a systematic approach by looking into the interconnectivity of concepts and topics by the subject experts and the Board will conduct examinations at the end of each term on the basis of the bifurcated syllabus. This is done to increase the probability of having a Board conducting classes 10 and 12 examinations at the end of the academic session... The syllabus for the Board examination 2021-22 will be rationalised similar to that of the last academic session to be notified in July 2021.
There are over 21,000 schools in the country that are affiliated with CBSE and are still coping with the COVID-19 to bring things on track as far as academic activities are concerned.
The decision of CBSE to hold boards exams in two parts has been welcomed by the schools as they feel that it helps schools and students better prepare themselves. They also feel that this would reduce the burden on students.
Anshu Mittal, Principal, MRG School, Delhi said: “This new pattern is likely to reduce the burden, rather than distribute it. With the previous pattern, students were studying for the whole year to give a detailed subjective exam, however with this pattern they will be relieved once the objective exam is done and they have the scores out. They will be able to allocate the concepts they are lacking in and need to focus on for the subjective exam.”
Schools gearing up for changed board exams
CBSE is likely to announce the dates of the first examination soon as the registration process for students has been completed. As per the changed pattern, the question paper will have Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) including case-based MCQs and MCQs on the assertion-reasoning type.
“As the results will be based on the results of Term 1 and Term 2. The school has made provisions for the students to understand and practice the OMR pattern. As the subjective writing skills of the students will be tested in Term -2, we are giving them training in writing answer sheets so that the students are able to attempt both types of exams,” said Simran Kaur, Principal of Podar International School.
The duration of the test will be 90 minutes and it will cover only the rationalized syllabus of Term I only (i.e. approx. 50% of the entire syllabus). The marks scored in the first term will be contributed to the final overall score of students.
Naman Jain, Director of Silver Line Prestige School, Ghaziabad talking about the benefits of two exams said: “Once gaining the clarity of the syllabus and the pattern of assessment, it will reduce the stress of the students. The reduction of the syllabus and its division in two terms has made it much easier for students this year. They need to prepare only for syllabus prescribed for that particular term.”
The CBSE will send question papers to schools along with the marking scheme and the exams will be conducted under the supervision of the superintendents and observers appointed by the Board.
Two exams: How should students prepare?
With the first part of the exam getting over in November-December, the CBSE will conduct the second exam covering the remaining 50% of the syllabus in March-April 2022.
The board has tried to explain the pattern of examination and has also sent the details to schools to prepare for the new pattern. Schools principals across the country are happy with the changed pattern as they feel that this will reduce the stress of the final board exams on the students as it allows continuous assessment.
“If a situation like this (lockdown due to COVID-19) happens again next year, there will be no issue in assessing students and preparing results,” said the Principal of a school in Delhi.
However, students are a bit stressed that the exams should not affect their overall results. Sanya Singh, a Class 12 student from Ghaziabad said: “When the first wave of COVID came we had just finished our class 10 exam and one paper was evaluated based on internal assessment. Though the school has explained to us about the changed pattern of exam we have no idea how we would be evaluated if there is no second exam due to Covid in March.”
As per the CBSE, the paper will be of two hours duration and have questions of different formats (case-based/situation based, open-ended- short answer/ long answer type)... In case the situation is not conducive for normal descriptive examination, a 90-minute MCQ based exam will be conducted at the end of Term II also. Marks of the Term II Examination would contribute to the final overall score.
Mittal speaking about how students need to prepare themselves said: “The students must prepare themselves mentally that every exam taken by them is crucial and will be influencing their overall score. This will help them streamline their preparation accordingly. Now that a subjective and objective exam will form the total score, the analytical and reasoning skills of students will be challenged equally, and the skill enhancement of students will occur at higher levels.”
What if there is third wave?
Sanya is not the only student who is worried about the exam, understanding these concerns CBSE is also preparing for the worst-case scenarios. “For instance, in case the pandemic forces a complete closure of schools during November-December 2021, but the second-term exams are held, the MCQ based exam will be conducted in online or offline mode from the residence of the students. “In this case, the weightage of this exam for the final score would be reduced, and weightage of Term 2 exams will be increased for declaration of the final result,” the notification states.
Jain said that it is important to enable students to decipher the skills required to attempt both the terms as per the changes in exam paper pattern. He said: “Daily ‘Practice’ would be of utmost importance as these children are now out of writing practice. Preparedness, Patience, and Perseverance are the keywords for students to prepare themselves.”
The CBSE has also clarified that in case the situation of the pandemic forces a complete closure of schools during March-April 2022, but first-term exams are held, then the results will be based on the performance of students in the said exam and internal assessments.
“Students should plan their timetable for all the subjects well in advance and practise more sample papers for achieving good results. It is my sincere advice to them to gain confidence, but don’t be overconfident. Since it is a shift from detailed subjective answers towards objective ones, the scope of mark deduction is higher, as one wrong choice indicates no score for the particular answer. The students are in the habit of explaining their thoughts and are expected to gain marks for the effort, which will not be the case now. It is suggested to take thorough time out for comprehending the question properly and then selecting the right choice,” said Mittal suggesting ways to prepare for the changes CBSE board examinations.
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