SSLC exams switch back to descriptive mode this year

Students appearing for class 10 (SSLC) board exams in the state this academic year will have to prepare to write descriptive answers.

The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) has withdrawn the multiple-choice questions (MCQ) pattern, which was implemented during the 2021 board examinations, and has returned to the earlier pattern of descriptive type questions.

The KSEEB has specified the change in a notification issued recently, for guidelines to conduct the March-April 2022 preparatory and final examinations.

Officials said the MCQ pattern was introduced during the 2020-21 academic year, keeping in mind the Covid-19 situation.

“Before the 2021 examinations, the syllabus was not completed and physical classes were conducted hardly for a few months. Considering that, the board had switched to MCQ pattern in the interests of students,” said a senior official of the Board.

This year also, there were suggestions to continue with the MCQ pattern, but experts and teachers felt that doing away with descriptive type answers will stop students’ creative thinking.

H K Manjunath, president of the Karnataka High School Assistant Masters Association, said, “At this age, importance should be given to writing. If we continue with the MCQ pattern, the students will forget writing, thinking about and analysing the subject.”

The exams will be conducted for 100 marks for core subjects, second and third languages, and for 125 for the first language.

Of these, 80 marks will be for theory and 20 marks for internal assessment, for subjects other than the first language.

For the first language, 100 marks will be for theory and 25 for internal assessment.

Mixed reactions have come in from students over the move. While some are happy with the change in pattern, others said they were comfortable with MCQ.

“It would have been helpful had the government continued with MCQ as that is the pattern adopted by most competitive examinations,” said a student of class 10.

Another student said, “There are more chances of students getting confused in the MCQ pattern while marking the answers. When it is a descriptive type, we can answer easily.”

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