Changes in exam pattern, practical exam marks
Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Board of Secondary Education, Assam, (SEBA) has introduced new guidelines for the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination from 2025. Several changes in the examination pattern, including a new elective subject, separate pass marks in both MCQ and descriptive questions, marks for practical subjects, etc., are being introduced.
In this connection, a notification has been issued by SEBA incorporating the changes in the examination pattern for the academic session 2024–25.
A new elective subject called “Artificial Intelligence and Robotics” will be added to Class IX in the academic session 2024–25, and the subject will be introduced for Class X in the academic session 2025–26.
The practical marks of all vocational subjects, including Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Garment Designing, Woodcraft, Music, Dance, Yoga and Physical Education, Fine Arts, Home Science, Weaving and Textile Design, and all subjects under the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF), will be 50% for the Class IX exams and HSLC examinations from the academic session 2024–25. The practical marks for Computer Science and Commerce will remain 30%, as before. It has also been decided that from this time onwards, the “District Level Internal Examination Committee” will conduct the practical examinations of all subjects. The system of taking practical exams at the centre level is being abolished, and students must pass the practical exams separately.
Students have to secure a pass mark in both multiple-choice questions (MCQ) and descriptive questions separately. 50% of internal assessment (IA) marks will be added to the marks scored in the MCQ, and the remaining 50% of the marks have to be scored in descriptive questions. The pass marks for the MCQ portion will be 13, the pass marks for IA in the MCQ will be 2, and a similar pattern of marks has to be secured for the descriptive question portion as well.
HSLC 2025 will have 4 OMR sets of question papers marked A, B, C, and D.
The notification added that, in English and other language subjects, it is not necessary that all the questions be from the prescribed lessons or chapters only. There may be unseen passages, grammar items, etc. The questions will be based on the learning outcomes of the subjects.
Similarly, in the subjects Science and Mathematics, the questions or problems will be concept-based, which may not be directly from the textbooks. Even questions from examples and references may be included in question papers. In some cases, the MCQs may warrant summations or calculations as well. The questions will be based on the learning outcomes of the content of the subjects.
Moreover, the patterns of questions in other subjects, including vocational subjects, will also be changed as per the guidelines of NEP 2020. In the subject of social science, the pattern of questions will also be concept-based, as per the guidelines of NEP 2020. The questions here will also be based on the learning outcomes of the content of the subjects.
It was also informed in the notification that sample question papers for mathematics and science, for the reference of the students and the teachers of Class X, have been uploaded to SEBA’s website as per the guidelines of NEP 2020.
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