Twice-a-year boards to be rolled out in 2024: Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan

Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated in an interview that the new textbooks for classes III to VI, IX and XI will be ready for the 2024-25 academic session and the remaining in 2025-26.

The following are excerpts from the interview

Parents and schools are unsure when the twice-yearly board exam will be administered.

The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for schools, based on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 proposals, was notified, and the new school syllabus is being prepared in accordance with its recommendations. The NEP made proposals for assessments and tests, which were addressed in depth in the NCF. We are now in the implementation phase. Currently, board exams are held annually at the end of classes X and XII. In order to reform this, each of these tests will now be presented twice, which is optional for students. Based on their preparation, a student can take the exam once or twice, with the best score being used. This will relieve the stress of a single exam on children.

This twice-yearly board format will be used beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. This means that it will be implemented beginning with the 2025 board exams for classes X and XII, which is about a year and a half from now. This will begin with the current class IX and XI pupils.

NEP also mentioned semester mode beginning with class IX...

Exams will gradually become semester-based beginning with classes IX. Currently, students are evaluated once after two years of study (classes IX-X and XI-XII). These four years will be divided into eight semester exams. Everything a student learned in two semesters of class IX will be summarized in two tests. This will be followed in subsequent classes as well.

However, this will be introduced during the second round of exam revisions. Our current priority is to create a new syllabus and texts for classes IX through XII.

What has changed in the NCF?

The new NCF includes certain basic modifications, such as the addition of "skill" as a regular course. Our new NCF's strength is that it offers scientific, need-based, and skill-based education. It envisions an education system that is both flexible and based (in Indian ideals). The NCF's principal purpose is to prepare Indian students to be global citizens.

New textbooks should be provided for all of these...

The current schooling period is 15 years. The foundational cohort, which includes Bal vatika 1, 2, and 3, has been codified for the first time. These classes, as well as classes I and II, have already received notification of the teaching-learning materials. According to the new National Curriculum Framework for School Education, which was announced in August of this year, new textbooks for grades III through VI, as well as grades IX and XI, will be available in 2024. This means that all of the books for the preparatory courses and the entry level (class VI) of middle school (class VI) will be available. Similarly, textbooks for secondary (class IX) and senior secondary (class XI) students will be available for the 2024-25 academic year. As a result, books for six classes will be available next year. The remaining books (classes VII, VIII, X, and XII) will be completed by 2025. This will assure continuity, and the new approach to school education will be completed in the academic year 2025-26, beginning in 2024-25.

When will the three-language secondary education formula be implemented?

The three-language formula represents a significant paradigm shift in classroom instruction. Language has so far been handled as a subject. The emphasis is now on mother tongues/native languages as a medium of instruction. It also allows you to learn multiple languages. According to NCF recommendations, from class VI to X, a student will study three languages, two of which will be Indian languages, and in classes XI and XII, two languages, one of which will be an Indian language. This will also be introduced concurrently with the start of the new academic year.