CBSE's new exam format will benefit students, believe these school principals. Here's why

The Central Board of Secondary Education's new format for first term Board exams for Class X and Class XII, including 90-minute-long objective type tests, has been hailed by several school principals who believe the decision will help enhance critical thinking of students.

Bifurcating the academic session, holding two term-end exams and rationalising the syllabus were part of the special assessment scheme for Class X and Class XII CBSE Board exams for 2021-22, which was announced in July in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first term exams will begin on November 30 for major subjects, while the schedule for minor subjects will be sent to schools separately. Pallavi Upadhyaya, Principal of Delhi Public School in Ghaziabad, told news agency PTI, "The new objective format has a five-minute increased reading time, which is quite thoughtful and would help the students read the questions and the options carefully before selecting the right answers." 

Upadhyaya added, "Looking at the drastic change in pedagogical methods due to lockdown, this decision of bifurcating the scores in objective and subjective examinations is indeed great. This will lessen the stress and burden of learning for the students"

According to Seema Kaur, Principal, Pacific World School, Noida, the changed pattern this year, with the first term being tested as an objective-based exam, may be difficult for many students, but focus on conceptual clarity will help.

"Keeping this in mind, we are ensuring that the students are given adequate practice in objective-based questions and continuous reiteration of concepts is being done to enable them to comprehend the critical thinking questions with ease," Kaur told PTI.

The plan by the Board to split the session into two terms had come against the backdrop of the pandemic, which forced the cancellation of Board exams for some subjects last year and a complete cancellation of the exams this year.

The result was then announced on the basis of alternative assessment schemes developed by the Board. The exams will be objective and the duration of the tests will be 90 minutes. The exams will start at 11:30 am instead of 10:30 am, in view of the winter season. Exams for the minor subjects will be conducted by schools, though the question paper will be provided by the Board. 

According to Sangeeta Hajela, Principal, DPS Indirapuram, the gradual and graded re-introduction of the offline examination system is surely a welcome move. "There won't be a rush to cover the whole syllabus in a single go and the division will make teaching and learning more streamlined and effective. We look forward to this pattern and hope our students will be able to apply the learning to do well in this objective examination," she told the news agency.