Like students from Thiruvananthapuram, CBSE class 12 students from Mangaluru and other parts of Karnataka too found the physics paper on Monday lengthy and tough.
A majority of them had the grouse mainly on the lengthy type 20 “multiple choice questions” (MCQ) for one mark each. “These were of high order thinking type questions where answers had to be derived after following a few steps. Slow learners found this tough,” said principal of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Mudipu, V. Srinivasan, who teaches physics.
Not just the MCQ questions, Mr. Srinivasan said questions for the three and five marks were also lengthy. “The CBSE has laid down the blue print for question paper that has a combination of easy, average and difficult questions. This pattern is missing in the question paper as there are more number of difficult questions,” he said.
This year, the pattern of the question paper was changed to include MCQs. Manohar, physics teacher from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Mysuru, said they set question papers based on the CBSE’s model question papers to prepare for the new pattern. “The questions that we saw yesterday were not as per the pattern followed in model question paper,” he said.
Ashok Pujar, physics teacher from Javahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Bengaluru, said the MCQ questions given were of the standard that is seen in NEET and JEE examinations. “Only those who had deeper understanding of the subject could solve it,” he said.
Physics teacher from JNV, Madikeri, J. Suresh, said several students were in tears after the examination. Vinayak, Vice-Principal from Sharada Vidyaniketan, Mangaluru, said his students found the paper “average”.
Mr. Pujar said the difficulty level of the physics paper given in the southern States is at a higher level compared the ones in North India. “We are giving our feedback to the CBSE for it to take considerate view during the evaluation in the interest of students,” he said.