Class 12 boards: English paper ‘easy, but lengthy’

NEWDELHI: As the Class 12 exams of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) began on Monday with English, students and teachers said the exam was “easy, but lengthy”. Students complained they had to race against time to answer all questions.

More than 11 lakh students have registered for the Class 12 exam and over 16 lakh candidates are set to appear for the Class 10 board exams this year.

The Class 12 exam was held at 4,138 centres in India and 71 centres abroad on Monday. It started at 10.20am and lasted till 1.30 pm, officials said.

Though most students said they found the paper easy, they said that they struggled to answer all the questions on time. Aman Khandelwal, a Class 12 student at Evergreen Senior Secondary School, Vasundhara Enclave, said, “The paper was not at all difficult, though it was a bit lengthy. I could not complete it on time.”

“The paper was very easy, but a bit lengthy,” said Anubhav Choudhary, a student at Amity School, Mayur Vihar.

You are Ali/alia, Head girl/head boy of your school. You are deeply disturbed by the cases of aggressive behaviour of students in your school. You decide to speak in the morning assembly about it. Write a speech on ‘Indiscipline in Schools’.

MMD School, Nashik, organised a science symposium on the topic: ‘Effect of pollution on quality of life’. You are Amit/amita Raazdan, editor of the school magazine. Write a report on the event for your school magazine.

Academic excellence is the only requirement for a successful career. Write a debate either for or against the motion.

The English core paper had passages and questions about ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’, pollution, floods in cities and cases of aggressive behaviour in schools.

“The paper had a good mix of questions based on recent events and general awareness. Students who are aware of what’s happening in the city and country would have found it easier to relate to the questions and answer them,” said Shalu Arora, who teaches English at Springdales School, Pusa Road.

Tripura Mulasi, who teaches English at Mount Abu Public School, Rohini, said the paper could be dubbed as “well balanced”. “Students with good comprehension skills would have been able to attempt Section A with ease. Section B offered a good choice which could be easily tackled by the students. Literature section covered most of the chapters,” Mulasi said.

Questions in Section A test comprehension, while Section B focuses on grammar and Section C is for literature.

A section of Class 10 students also appeared for their first board exam on Monday. Paper in Information and Communication Technology, Dynamics of Retailing, Food Production, Beauty and Wellness and other vocational courses were scheduled on Monday. Class 10 students will appear for the Hindi paper on Tuesday.