New Delhi: In a latest announcement by the Ministry of Education as per New Curriculum Framework, the board examinations will be conducted twice a year with students having the option to retain the best score, while class 11 and 12 students will have to study two languages instead of one.
As per the New Education Policy (NEP), the textbooks will be developed on its basis for the 2024 academic session. "In classes 11 and 12, students will have to study two languages and one of them has to be an Indian language," the final NCF (National Curriculum Framework) document accessed by PTI said.
In order to make the board exams "easier" from the current "high stakes" practice, the examination will assess the understanding and achievement of competencies rather than months of coaching and memorisation.
Board exams to be conducted twice a year
"Board exams will be conducted at least twice a year to ensure students have enough time and opportunity to perform well. Students can then appear for a board exam in subjects they have completed and feel ready for. They will also be allowed to retain the best score," it said.
Flexibility in choosing subjects
The choice of subjects in classes 11 and 12 will not be restricted to streams such as Arts, Science and Commerce. "In due course of time, school boards are to develop capacities to offer on-demand exams in due course of time. Besides board exam test developers and evaluators will have to go through university-certified courses before taking up this work," it said.
The new framework has also noted that the current practice of covering textbooks in classroom will be avoided, while stressing that the cost of textbooks should be optimised.
Exams will be stress free
Aiming to make the exams "easier" rather than "high stakes", the boards have also been asked to develop capacities to be able to conduct "on-demand" examinations in due course of time.
The New Curriculum Framework (NCF) document accessed by PTI also noted that there should be no hard separations between Arts and Sciences, curricular and extra-curricular activities, and vocational and academic streams.
"This process could be made possible through the creation of a comprehensive test item bank which can be used to create tests using suitable software. This will enable the move towards a system of on-demand examinations in the near future as described in NEP 2020," the NCF stated.
The board exams for classes 10 and 12 were also split into two terms during the pandemic as a one-time measure, but the old format of year-end examination was resumed for the crucial exams this year.
The NCF prepared by the national steering committee, headed by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan, also suggests that the current practice of streaming into Science, Arts or Humanities, and Commerce will be replaced by a design that enables both breadth through engagement with a variety of courses across streams and depth in areas chosen by students.
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