The state higher secondary council has decided that a student in the segmented plus-II course has to score at least 30 per cent in every paper in each of the four semesters.
The council, which had earlier said a student was required to score at least 30 per cent (pass marks) in each paper in the two semesters together in a year (first and second semesters in Class XI and third and fourth semesters in Class XII), changed its decision after taking advice from senior teachers and subject experts.
Council secretary Priyadarshini Mallick said the decision was changed based on apprehensions that students would not take all the examinations seriously if they knew that failing in one of the semesters wouldn’t come in the way of promotion if they did better in the other semester.
“We sought opinions from senior teachers in schools, colleges and universities. They said the students must score the pass marks in all the papers in each semester. According to them, what we said earlier could lead to dilution of the examination system,” said Mallick. “We accepted their advice.”
In a lab-based subject, a student is required to write a theory paper of 35 marks in each semester. In non-lab subjects, the papers will be of 40 marks in each semester.
“So now a student has to score at least 10.05 in a theory paper in each semester in a lab-based subject,” said a council official. “In non-lab based papers, the corresponding marks will be 12.”
Metro reported on March 31 that the council was seeking opinions from senior teachers on whether a student in the segmented plus-II course has to pass in each of the four semesters or score 30 per cent (pass marks) in the two semesters together in each year to clear the examinations.
The council will test students entirely on multiple-choice questions in the first and third semesters. There will be short-answer and descriptive-type questions in the second and fourth semesters.
In the new semester system, the council secretary said, a student will get a chance to clear a backlog along the exams in the subsequent semester.
