Punjab School Education Board to conduct Class 10, 12 Board Exams in two terms from this academic year

The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has decided to conduct examinations for classes 10 and 12 in two terms from this academic year, along the lines of the decision taken by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The exams will be biannually for classes 5 and 8 as well. The PSEB will hold the Term-I Board examinations in November-December this year, while the second term exams are scheduled to be conducted in February-March 2022. According to NDTV, The PSEB Term-I exams will be conducted as multiple-choice based test for the main subjects only. The PSEB will not hold practical examinations in Term-I. For the second semester, subjective examinations will be held. The PSEB will divide the academic year into two, and assign 50 percent of the syllabus to each semester. Nearly 12 lakh students will appear for the exams from classes 5, 8, 10 and 12. Speaking to Hindustan Times, PSEB chairperson Professor Yograj said that the decision was taken keeping in mind the possibility of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. He added that the result would be calculated according to the average marks of the candidate in both terms. Yograj also said that “exams for special students will be conducted in their schools only, while others will be allocated different centres as used to be the norm earlier.” Last year, the PSEB had announced a reduction of 30 percent in the syllabi for classes 10 and 12 for the academic year 2021-22 in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the same reason, the Board had cancelled the final exams for both classes as well, calculating the scores on the basis of an alternative means of assessment. For Class 12 PSEB students, the scores were obtained on the basis of the marks of the candidate in classes 10, 11 and 12, with 30 percent weightage each being given to the classes 10 and 11 results. The PSEB had given 40 percent weightage to the Class 12 unit/pre-board/mid-term examinations. For classes 8 and 10, the PSEB had calculated the grades based on continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE).