Bihar intermediate (BSEB +2) exams from February 6, no home centre for practicals

The Bihar School Examination Board will conduct the board exams for intermediate or Class 12 students of all the three streams - arts, commerce, and science - between February 6 and 16, 2018, a senior official has said.

BSEB chairperson Anand Kishor also said on Sunday the pre-board exams will be held between November 14 and 21 and the district education officers have been informed of the decision.

Unlike the previous years, the practical exams will be conducted before the theory papers, he said.

“The practical examination will begin on January 11 and continue till January 25. Moreover, to keep a check on unfair marking in practical exams, we have decided to end the system of the home centre for practical examinations,” Kishor said.

“From 2018 onwards, the practical exams will be held in other centres which will be allotted by the district magistrate. Also, the external examiners will be the teachers from the respective centres while the internal examiners will be the specific subject teachers from the student’s school,” he added.

Kishor said the pre-board exam is compulsory for both regular and private candidates and only those who appeared in the exam will be issued the online admit cards for the main examination.

“The schools are asked to prepare a list of both the students who have taken the sent-up and not taken the sent-up and send the soft copy to the board by November 27.”

The school board has been hit by merit list scandals, involving students who aced the state board exams but fudged their age and could not come up with answers to even the most basic of questions.

Scrambling to salvage the situation, the BSEB introduced a physical verification process from this year for Class 10 toppers, cross-checking their age, interviewing them, and reevaluating their answer sheets.