Karnataka State board to hold centralised exam for Class 9, I PU students
BENGALURU: In an attempt to reform the state’s education system, the Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) has decided to conduct a centralised annual examination for Class 9 and I Pre-University students from this academic year (2023-24). The decision is to facilitate consistent assessment of students under the state board. It is mandatory for the students to appear for this examination. A government notification issued on Thursday called this exam “Summative Assessment 2”. It will be applicable to students studying in government, aided, and unaided schools and PU colleges following the state syllabus. The KSEAB has directed the Karnataka School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Council (KSQAAC) to prepare question papers for Grade 9 students. Exams to be held in schools and colleges For Grade 11 students, the PU exam section of KSEAB will prepare the questions. However, evaluation of answer scripts of Grade 11 students will happen at the college level. The evaluation of answer scripts of Class 9 students will happen at taluk level, the notification stated. The exam will be held in respective schools and colleges. For Class 9, teachers from nearby schools will be invigilators and for Class 11, lecturers of the same colleges. “If a student fails in the Class 9 exam, he/she will not be detained. The school must inform only the students and parents about the results,” according to the guidelines to schools. If a student fails in the first PU exam, a supplementary exam will be conducted at college level. In the last academic year, the school education department introduced annual board exams for Classes 5 and 8. The new reform comes at a time when certain sections of society objected to last year’s board exams stating that they would increase the pressure on students to perform better. Earlier this month, Madhu Bangarappa, Primary Education and Literacy Minister, announced three board exams for Classes 10 and 12 to help students improve their scores, cancelling the supplementary examination.
