SSC students may score less marks if oral exams are scrapped, say experts

MUMBAI: The state education department’s decision to scrap oral exams of all subjects except maths and science for Class 10 is being questioned by educationists across the state.

From 2019, students appearing for their Class 10 boards will have no orals/practical exams in subjects other than maths and science. They will have to appear for written exams for the entire 100 marks for most of the subjects.

The education department stated that the decision was taken to increase the difficulty level of the state board exams to bring them on par with the other boards. However, according to the educationists, the decision would prove to be a loss for the students of the state board as they would not be able to score as good as their counterparts from the other boards.

“With students having to write 100 marks papers for most subjects, scoring would be more difficult. With lower scores, they cannot compete with students from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) boards that have dedicated marks for internals,” said Jalindar Sarode, secretary, Shikshak Bharati, a teachers’ organisation who has written to the education department on the issue.

Bharati said that lower marks would deprive students from the state board of seats in the state’s prominent colleges.

Continuing its policy from 2017, the CBSE has allowed combined passing of 33% in internals and written exams for Class 10 students this year too. With all the other boards giving 20-40% weightage to internal exams, state board students would be at a loss this year.

“When the competition to get through top junior colleges is so fierce, especially in cities like Mumbai, students from the state board might not get an edge over those from non-state board backgrounds,” said Usha Shinde, a teacher from a suburban school.

This year, students from the state board will have to appear for 20 mark practicals for maths and science while all the other subjects would be graded on the basis of 100-mark written examinations.

THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT STATED THAT THE DECISION WAS TAKEN TO INCREASE THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF STATE BOARD EXAMS