The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is prepared to make changes in the pattern of the upcoming board examinations of 2020, keeping in mind the interest of the students. The tweet by CBSE on August 20, 2019, claimed that these changes are meant to be ‘student-friendly’. However, this has raised several concerns among the netizens, and several experts disagreed to the claim.
The major changes being introduced by CBSE in the 2020 examinations include the following things:
- Reduced descriptive answers for students of class 10 – Students will no longer require writing lengthy answers which have been a long struggle for them. The change applies to all the subjects at this level which includes English, Maths, Social Science, Science, Hindi/Vernacular and Home Science.
- Reduced descriptive answers for students of class 12 – Changes have also been made for the length of the answer of class 12 students. They will also have less descriptive answers to write in subjects including Maths, Physics, Accountancy, Economics, Business Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology etc.
- More of the objective type answers – The use of more objective type answers will be practised, which according to CBSE, allows in-depth study and understanding and at the same time does not burden the students with too much writing. There will also be more internal choices.
- Practicals and Internal Assessment in all the subjects – One of the major additions of the changed pattern will be a 20-mark practical or internal assessment in every subject. This makes the students more to study and reduced the total marks in the final exams. The change has been brought to bring about a better understanding of the subject rather than simply providing students with theoretical knowledge.
- Two-level maths examination for class 10 students – An additional level of mathematics will be introduced as level 2, which will be easier for the students. The existing syllabus will fall under the Mathematics-Standard criteria, whereas level 2 will be known as Mathematics-Basic. Students will have the option to appear for any of the two levels if they fail to appear to achieve the required marks in Mathematics-Standard exam.
While most of these changes appear helpful and has been celebrated highly among the students and parents, there are some concerns that must not be avoided. According to a CBSE schoolteacher, the reducing difficulty of these exams over the years have actually made the marking system very lenient. With the achievement of such marks, it will be highly challenging for students to face the competitive scenario in future.
Experts such as Swati Salukhe, have also claimed that changing the system only for the students of classes 9-12 will make it difficult to transition into the system. Changes need to be made from the very beginning so that students can be moulded in their early years.
To see how the new system fairs, we can wait for the exams and results to take place. But until then the students and their parents should take the necessary steps to familiarize themselves with the new system.