CBSE expresses reservations on the draft NEP’s recommendation for 24 subject multiple board exam

Vinod Kakumanu
Sept. 30, 2019, 11:51 a.m.

CBSE has voiced its concern over the recommendations made in the draft national education policy rooting for multiple board exams and inclusion of 24 subjects for the board exams. The NEP which is to come into effect since 2020 for next 20 years have made several provisions that have raised questions with regard to their feasibility or judgment, the three language formula, accreditation for private schools, the question of aanaganwadi (whether or not it should be under education department) are some of the prominent ones. The one that CBSE has expressed reservations is regarding the pattern which has multiple board exams and as many as 24 subjects for the board exams. CBSE has raised concern over the feasibility of the idea.

Currently, the NEP is being deliberated upon by an expert group of 20. The expert group is mulling over 2 lakh suggestions it has received from across the country from various stakeholders. The final draft is expected to be unveiled in October this year.

The section called “Restructuring of the board examinations” in the draft NEP outlines the new pattern of the board examination. It reads “will be significantly restructured to test only the core concepts, skills, and higher order capacities in a range of required subjects and in a range of elective subjects chosen by the students.” It adds “ students will be expected to take at least 24 subject board exams, on an average 3 a semester, and these exams will be in lieu of in-school final exams so as not be any burden on the students and teachers.”
CBSE along with few states have taken issue with the recommended semester system. As the MHRD source noted that it takes the board around 6 to 8 months to prepare the question papers for the annual board exams and the board exam process takes up another 3 months. Taking this into view, it would hardly be feasible to organize and evaluate 16 subjects’ internal exams and multiple board exams.