Board exams will now be conducted twice a year: Ministry of education

The Ministry of Education on Wednesday announced that board exams would be conducted twice a year, and students will be allowed to retain their best score.

The ministry also announced the new curriculum framework for school education in line with the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) and said that textbooks will be developed on its basis for the 2024 academic session.

Under the new curriculum, students of class 11 and class 12 need to study two languages, and at least one of them must be an Indian language.

In order to make the board exams easier than the current high-stakes practice, the examination will focus on assessing the understanding and achievement of competencies rather than memorising.

In a statement, the ministry said: "Board exams will be offered at least twice a year to ensure students have enough time and opportunity to perform well. Students can then appear for a board exam in subjects they have completed and feel ready for. They will also be allowed to retain the best score."

It further said that the choice of subjects in class 11 and class 12 would not be restricted to streams such as arts, science, and commerce to get the flexibility to choose.

In due course of time, board exam test developers and evaluators will have to go through university-certified courses before taking up this work.

Under the new framework, the current practice of covering textbooks in the classroom will be avoided, and the cost of textbooks will be optimised.