While schools and students have welcomed the state education department’s decision to reintroduce internal examinations for Class 9 and 10 students, experts have pointed out that the syllabus needs to be realigned to match the revised marking system.
In a government resolution (GR) released on August 8, the department made provisions to bring back internal examinations, or oral exams, worth 20 marks for languages and social sciences. A subject expert, who was involved in the syllabus revision for social sciences, said that the paper pattern should also be changed now that students will write for only 80 marks exam instead of 100. “With the scrapping of orals, 40 marks were for History and Geography while students had to study Political Science for 20 marks. Now, Political Science will only be for 12 marks, but students will have to study the entire syllabus for the same, which would make it stressful for them,” said the expert.
Oral exams had been scrapped for the academic year of 2018-19 and students had to appear for written exams worth 100 marks in these subjects. The education department had also announced that it would favour a conceptual approach to the curriculum. To this end, exam papers had activity sheets and application-based questions.
“Class 9 and 10 textbooks were revised over the last two years after which the paper pattern was changed. The marking scheme set at the time was in accordance with the 100-marks exam, which students had to take as per the revised policy. However, with orals making a comeback, students would now have to study the same amount of syllabus for lesser marks which would make it stressful for them while preparing for exams,” said Uday Nare, a teacher at Hansraj Morarji Public School in Andheri, who has written to the department on this issue.
{{/usCountry}}“Class 9 and 10 textbooks were revised over the last two years after which the paper pattern was changed. The marking scheme set at the time was in accordance with the 100-marks exam, which students had to take as per the revised policy. However, with orals making a comeback, students would now have to study the same amount of syllabus for lesser marks which would make it stressful for them while preparing for exams,” said Uday Nare, a teacher at Hansraj Morarji Public School in Andheri, who has written to the department on this issue.
{{/usCountry}}However, Anna Correa, principal, St Stanislaus High school in Bandra, who was part of the review committee, said syllabus realignment was not a priority. “The committee mainly considered the importance of internal assessment while coming up with the decision [to reintroduce oral exams]. Syllabus realignment can be thought about by the government in future and will not really be a stressor right now,” she said.
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