Give Class 12 students choice between two question papers: Maharashtra education minister

The suggestion comes after the state board received flak from students and educationists after its decision to introduce a tougher paper pattern for the exams.

State education minister Vinod Tawde on Thursday suggested that students taking Class 12 exams in March 2019 be given the option to choose between the old and new paper pattern before they appear for the examination.

Two different question papers will create chaos among students, says the co-owner of a Mumbai-based coaching centre. (HT file photo)

The suggestion comes after the state board received flak from students and educationists after its decision to introduce a tougher paper pattern for the exams.

“Those students who feel that the new paper pattern will be difficult should get the option to choose the old paper pattern and vice versa. This way, no one will be forced to go by the new paper pattern if they don’t want it,” said Tawde, at a press meet on Thursday.

He added that he has already made the suggestion to academicians and asked them to find out whether or not the option could be implemented.

In July, the Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) had decided to base the HSC (science) examinations on the framework laid down by the Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE).

The idea behind introducing changes to the question paper pattern of physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics was to ensure that state board students fare better in competitive examinations such as Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Examination (NEET).

Until now, students could omit one of two topics from their syllabus and still do well in the paper because of the options offered to them in the question papers. The new paper pattern will reduce these options so that students are more thorough with their knowledge. Educationists not only opposed the plan to introduce a new paper pattern, but are also critical of Tawde’s suggestion at the press meet.

“Two different question papers will create chaos among students. When it comes to competitive exams like JEE and NEET, students only need to score 50% in these subjects to be eligible for the exam so no one will opt for the difficult paper pattern,” said Subhash Joshi, co-owner of a city-based coaching institute.

He added that instead of changing the paper pattern, the state board should adopt the NCERT syllabus as most competitive exams are based on the same