Board exams for sciences will get tougher

The format of written papers of science subjects will be overhauled for state boards from next academic year. It will now include questions that will be designed to test the in-depth knowledge as well as analytical skills of the subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. The move will mean that rote skills will not be able to help students pass the exams anymore and they will actually have to master the coursework to score well in boards.

The proposed changes to be implemented from 2013 are as follows:

• 80% questions in all the PCMB subjects will test either student's knowledge or analytical skills.
• The science subjects will have a single theory paper of 70 marks, instead of two papers of 40 marks each. Practical exams for PCB will be increased from 20 to 30. However, Mathematics and Statistics paper will still have one theory paper of 80 marks and one practical exam worth 20 marks.
• State boards will follow the revised Science and Math syllabi that have been designed in accordance with the common medical entrance exam - national eligibility-cum-entrance test (NEET); and the Indian science engineering eligibility test (ISEET) to be introduced in 2013. 
• Students will have to score at least 25% in written papers of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics to pass Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) board examinations.
• The state board syllabi of all the four subjects will be increased by 10 to 25% to bring it at par with the CBSE curriculum.

While students are worried about having to study more chapters for one paper and that the scoring will become tougher, teachers think that the new pattern will help students to prepare better for the national-level exams. Read more

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