The reduction in the number of examination papers from eleven to six for the Class X examination is not a well thought-out move, feel students, parents and teachers. The reason for their apprehension? The entire syllabus will now have to be covered for each exam, unlike earlier where the syllabus would be divided into two exam papers. The total time available for preparation has now been halved, rue students.
Earlier, except for Hindi, all other subjects namely Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, English, and Telugu had two papers each, thus dividing the total number of topics in each subject into two question papers of 50 marks each. This gave students ample time to prepare for the exams as they did not have to study all of the topics in one go.
Now, under the new system, the syllabus remains the same while the number of papers have been reduced, resulting in students needing to answer questions in 18 hours instead of the 33 hours earlier. For answering questions valued at 100 marks they used to get six hours, which they now need to answer in three hours. This puts a lot of pressure on average and below-average students, points out Dudekula Siddaiah, a teacher from Anantapur.
When 20 teachers of Havlige Government High School were asked for their opinion, 17 of them said 70% of the students would be put to a disadvantage. Only around 30% of students, who are fast learners and can write quickly, will be able to adapt, the teachers felt. Anjaneyulu, a language teacher at Havlige School,. opined that there would be no additional stress on teachers in completing the course, but worried that this new pattern of examination could put tremendous psychological pressure on students resulting in a lower pass percentage.
Lavanya Thumpera, a parent, opined that preparation for all the subjects would be affected. “Even if a student was weak at some topics in a subject, he had the hope of securing pass marks by doing well in the other section of 50 marks. Social Studies, combining Civics, Geography and History, and Science combining Botany, Zoology, Physical Science and Chemical Science, will make it difficult for students,” she observed.
With the simplifying of studies at this level, it would become difficult for students to grasp complex concepts at the Intermediate level, opines S. Venu, a teacher from Mudigubba.
