The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UP Board) has decided to cut 30 per cent of the annual syllabus for school students. This is the third consecutive year the UP Board will continue to cover only 70 per cent of the prescribed annual syllabus in the new academic session for over one crore students of Class IX to Class XII. These students are enrolled in over 27,735 schools affiliated with the Board across the state, as stated in a report by IANS.
Why follow the same pattern for the third year? As per the officials' statement, the decision was made due to the lack of regular studies for the past two years because of COVID. Consequently, the students were under mental pressure and stress.
It was acknowledged by the officials that this year, after the Class X and XII examinations, school studies were affected for almost two months due to practical examinations and answer sheet evaluation, as stated in a report by IANS.
Further, it was stated that to provide a comfortable environment to students who returned to school after two years, only 70 per cent of the curriculum would be taught and the assessment would be based on the curriculum covered. This step was also taken for students' holistic development and to avoid giving additional pressure on students.
This decision of the UP Board is backed by a similar decision taken by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which also retained the 30 per cent cut in the curriculum for the year as done by it in the previous two pandemic-hit years. In this regard, confirming the move, the CBCSE's Prayagraj regional officer, Shweta Arora, said that last year's syllabus will be applicable to the 2022-23 session also.
Meanwhile, the UP Board is also going to conduct Class IX and X written examinations on a new pattern from this academic year. It is planning to conduct five monthly examinations that would form part of students' assessments. For the first time, these five exams will be segregated into three multiple-choice based exams and two exams will be based on questions seeking descriptive answers.
