Centre proposes shortened Class XII exam to cover only major subjects

THE Education Ministry has written to their state counterparts requesting them to attend a meeting tomorrow to discuss proposals for the conduct of Class XII and entrance examinations for professional courses.

The letter has also been sent to chairpersons of the state boards.

As per sources, the letter written by Joint Secretary in the Education Ministry says the delay in announcement regarding the examination is leading to uncertainty in the minds of students, parents and teachers.

"As the conduct of Class XII examinations impacts upon State board exam and other entrance exams across the county, it is desirable that a considered decision based on inputs of different State Government/UT administration is taken about Class XII examinations in the interest of all the students across the county", the Education Ministry's letter accessed by The Leaflet states.

The Education Ministry and the Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) have put forth two options to conduct CBSE Class XII exams.

The first option provides that the entire process of the examinations can be shortened by conducting them for major subjects only for Class XII, in the existing format, so that the declaration of results can be done within two months; the examination will be conducted in the designated examination centres; for minor subjects in class XII, marks can be calculated as per the assessment scheme based on the performance in the major subjects.

In second option, the centre has suggested the examinations be conducted in self-centres i.e. in the same schools where the students are enrolled, to ensure their safety. Thus, the number of centres will be doubled.

It adds that the examination will be for a short duration, that is, of one and half hours only instead of three hours.

Besides, it proposes that the Class XII examinations will be conducted only for a major subject. The students have to appear in one language and three elective subjects only. Based on their performance in these subjects, the result of 5th and 6th subjects , as the case may be, will be decided.

The question paper will cover the prescribed syllabus in each subject and will be of multiple option type. These will be based on the existing pattern of objective and very short answer type questions.

The examinations could be conducted two times by the Board. Whenever the conditions are conducive, examinations could commence from a suitable date. In the remaining locations, the examinations will start after a fortnight of the first phase.

In the event a student is not able to appear in the scheduled exam due to any Covid related matter, they will be provided with another opportunity

The result will be declared within 15 days of completion of the examination. Thus the entire process can be completed within 45 days.

The Centre's proposals will be deliberated upon tomorrow in a high-level meeting with States/ UTs and a final decision will be arrived at only thereafter.

The meeting will be chaired by Union Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh in the presence of Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', Union Minister for Women and Child, Smriti Zubin Irani and Union Minister Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar.