The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to restore the single-exam format for the next academic year. That means the Class 10th and 12th exams will be held in a single format. This year the CBSE introduce the new format for exams, in which the board held exams in two terms, Term-I board exams were held in November-December last year, while the Term-II exams will start on April 26. This development has come due to Covid pandemic of two years.
According to a senior official, said “CBSE never announced that the two-term exam format will be continued henceforth. It was a one-time formula. Now that schools are functioning in full capacity, the decision, for now, is to stick to the one-time exam format."
“The NCERT will send us the details of rationalisation based on which an announcement will be made. Schools can teach the reduced syllabus using the existing books,” said the official.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 said that all students be allowed to take the board exams on two occasions in an academic year -- "one main examination and one for improvement" to "eliminate the high stakes aspect of board exams".
"While the board exams for Grades X and XII will be continued, the existing system of board and entrance examinations shall be reformed to eliminate the need for undertaking coaching classes. To reverse these harmful effects of the current assessment system, board exams will be redesigned to encourage holistic development," said the NEP.