The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) has decided to bring major reforms to the Class X and XII examination system. While the concept of supplementary examination has been removed, it has introduced the annual exam thrice a year from the 2023-24 academic year.
Madhu Bangarappa, Minister for the Department of School Education and Literacy, announced this during the Teachers’ Day programme in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
By naming the supplementary examination as annual examination 1, 2, and 3, three opportunities will be provided to students which will promote their overall performance and positive attitude. This is a step ahead of the recent recommendation of the National Curriculum Framework, where two board examinations were proposed. The three-annual exam system will be implemented from the March/April 2024.
In the existing system, students appear for one annual examination and may appear for one supplementary for Class X and two supplementary exams for Class XII. From here on, the concept of supplementary exam will not exist and students will be allowed to improve their performance by taking up the second and third exams if they are not satisfied with the marks scored in the first exam.
It is compulsory for regular students to appear for exam 1 and repeater and private candidates can take up exam 2 and exam 3. Even if the students write the same subjects in different exams, scores from the best of the three exams will be retained while issuing the final marks card. But there will be no mention of the exam on the marks card.
Ramachandran R., chairman of the KSEAB, told The Hindu, “At present if a student who has passed the Class XII is not satisfied with the marks obtained in any subject in the annual examination, there is an option to reject the marks obtained in that subject and take up the examination once again. But only the marks obtained in the supplementary examination are considered as the final score. This system is not student-friendly because they have no option to keep their best score among the marks obtained in the two exams. If we adopt the revised examination system, it will provide an opportunity to improve the score by retaining the best marks scored in the first, second and third exam and provide better opportunities in the selection process for further studies or employment.”
He said, “The system of one annual exam and one supplementary exam is creating more stress and anxiety among students. Due to this, the student’s knowledge retention, meaningful learning and academic progress are being hampered. Each student’s learning pace and style are different, and conducting exams 1, 2 and 3 can help them adapt to their learning pace and reduce the stress caused by time constraints,” he explained.
Mr. Ramachandran also said clear guidelines for students regarding the revised examination system will be issued by the board through a circular. “Uniformity in content and difficulty level will be maintained in the question papers in these three examinations. Students will be given an opportunity subject-wise to choose the best score among the marks obtained in these three attempts. The students who join the next academic course late shall be provided with a ‘bridge course’, be it class XI or undergraduate course, to make up for the missed classes in the initial month,” he added.
