Bhubaneswar, Oct. 25: The Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) has crystallised the mark distribution pattern for the 2013 Plus Two board exams. The question paper will consist of 70 per cent objective questions to help examinees score higher marks.
Until now, students had to attempt 60 per cent short-answer questions and 40 per cent subjective or essay-type questions. From the next year, however, the question paper in non-practical subjects will be divided into three sections. The first section will have multiple-choice questions and one-word answer/fill in the blanks-type questions worth 15 marks each.
The next section will require students to answer a fixed number of questions, each carrying two to three marks —in all, 40 marks. The last one will deal with essay-type questions in which one will have to answer four out of six questions, each worth 7.5 marks.
“The questions will cover the entire second year syllabus. In a way, it will ensure that students are thorough with all the chapters,” said controller of Plus Two examinations, Jasobanta Behera. For practical subjects, the pattern will have slight variations in allotment of marks for individual sections, though the focus here too will be more on objective questions. The outline has been uploaded on the website of the higher education department (www.dheorissa.in).
The justification behind increasing the share of objective questions is to bring students in CHSE-governed colleges on a par with their counterparts in CBSE and ICSE schools, Behera said. “If they also secure high marks, they will have a better chance at cracking all-India competitive exams,” he added.
Last year, chief minister Naveen Patnaik and chief secretary B.K. Patnaik had reviewed the performance of Odisha students at national-level entrance exams and had instructed CHSE authorities to bring about changes in the question pattern across all streams.
The council officials are now working on overhauling the Plus Two syllabi. For the 2014 board exams, it is proposed to include questions from the first and second years in a 40:60 ratio.
Last week, the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) officials had also announced a few changes in the annual high school certificate (HSC) exams scheduled to begin from February 20.
A question paper-cum-answer sheet will be introduced for students to write their answers on the question paper allotted to them. The questions will also be uploaded on the board’s website so that students may use it for reference. Evaluation will be done in March and results will be declared in April. The form fill-up process for the matriculation exams will be completed by December 24.
