Reduced syllabus, easier format for HP board exams

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, February 7

The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education is preparing to conduct board examinations of class V, VIII, IX, X, XI and XII in the state over the next few months. The board had decided to hold its examinations offline. However, in view of the loss of teaching days due to closure of schools in view of Covid-19 pandemic and difficulties faced by students in remote areas of the state who could not study online due to poor mobile signals or network problems in their areas, it has been decided that papers would be prepared from 70 per cent syllabus.

Dr Soni said model question papers had been uploaded on board website and the schools had been informed to help the students solve these papers so that they could do well in their board examinations. The idea was to prepare them well before the final examinations.

He said question papers would be designed in such a manner that students did not face difficulty in getting pass marks. It had been decided that 40 per cent questions would be easy, 30 per cent moderately difficult and 20 per cent difficult or tricky.

In multiple choice questions, the students would be given 30 per cent more choices.

The students in Bharmour and Pangi had faced difficulties in taking online classes. They had to climb hilltops at places to attend their classes because of network problems. In Jwalamukhi, a farmer had to sell his cow to buy a smartphone so that his children could take online classes.

Naresh Sharma, a teacher, said as many as 80 per cent students had attended online classes regularly. The board had decided against promoting the students to the next classes without examinations but is taking steps to help the students clear their annual examinations.