With the online education becoming the new normal due to covid-19 pandemic, the board exams conducted by the CBSE has gone through some changes. The CBSE has released sample question papers for class X and XII board exams 2021. The question papers follow a new exam pattern, wherein the students have more internal choices in a particular section and subsequently, the marking scheme has also been revised. In the new exam pattern, more than 10% weightage has been provided to multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
For instance, earlier the class XII mathematics question paper was divided into four sections and there was no overall choice. Section A comprised of 20 questions of 1 mark each, section B had 6 questions of 2 marks, section C comprised of 6 questions of 4 marks and Section D had 4 questions of 6 marks each. As per the new exam pattern, the paper is divided into two sections, where Part A has objective type questions and carries 24 marks whereas and Part B carries 56 marks. The 6 mark questions have been eliminated from the paper.
Several academicians are concerned that the new pattern may add to the increasing number of high scorers and make the competition for higher education tougher. The number of students scoring 95% and above in CBSE class XII board increased from 17,693 in 2019 to 38,686 in 2020.
AN Ramachandra, Joint Commissioner (Academics), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, says that higher education admission mechanism needs to adapt to the changes in school education and institutes must move towards skill-based education.