A paper each for English, language

Relief for teachers and students

The School Education Department has announced that students will have a paper each for English and Language subjects in the SSLC examinations for the 2019-20 academic year.

So far, students have had two papers — Paper 1 and Paper 2 — each for language and English subjects.

The decision was taken after the Directorate of Government Examinations called for a single, combined paper stating that it would be less stressful for both students and teachers. Students, schools and teacher associations have been asking for a combined paper, according to a government order from Pradeep Yadav, School Education secretary.

The department has said that although students would write a combined paper, they would ensure that the quality of assessment would not decrease and that the exam would be comprehensive and concise.

In a similar move during the previous year, students who took up the Plus 1 and Plus 2 public exams wrote a combined paper instead of two papers.

With only two exams instead of four for languages, teachers would be able to spend more time teaching and helping students instead of corrections. The exam schedule too would become shorter and students would be less stressful Officials said it would also save nearly three crore sheets of paper.

While students of Class 10 have already begun writing their quarterly exams, Director of School Education S. Kannappan said that they would take up their half-yearly examinations in the new model. “The DGE will now work towards preparing a combined paper which will ensure that they are effectively assessed,” he said.