CBSE Board Exams: Syllabus for Class 10 and 12 board exams next year could be reduced by one-third

The Board took a different approach in cutting down the syllabus. (Representative image)

CBSE Class 10, Class 12 Board Exams: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) might reduce the syllabus for Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations for the next year by one-third, according to a report by the IE. The cut is a one-time step taken to compensate for instructional time lost due to the coronavirus pandemic, the report stated, adding that the Board would soon announce the cut. In its efforts to reduce the syllabus, the board was assisted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

The Board took a different approach in cutting down the syllabus, and instead of removing entire chapters, it asked NCERT to suggest those topics or themes which are being repeated or are overlapping. Alternatively, the council could also suggest topics and themes the learning outcomes of which were being covered in other chapters, the report stated, adding that it learnt that all the suggestions are based on learning outcomes.

IE had last month reported that Class 10 might not have to study, for assessment purposes in Board examinations, topics like frustum of a cone and area of a triangle in Mathematics, ‘Tyndall Effect’ on the eye and physical properties of metals and non-metals in Science and History’s age of industrialisation.

The new IE report further stated that the schools affiliated with CBSE would have the freedom to decide on the syllabus for up to Class 8 students.

As per the report, the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which conducted the ICSE and ISC exams, last week became the first school board to announce major reductions in the syllabus for their Board exams next year. The syllabus for all subjects for the ICSE and ISC exams have witnessed a cut of up to 25%, the report added. Moreover, if schools do not reopen in August, the board could announce further reductions.

The report quoted CISCE chief Gerry Arathoon as saying that the syllabus reduction was done after considering the linear progression across the classes, while also ensuring that the syllabus cut does not lead to the students losing out on any core concepts related to the subjects.

From the Class 12 CISCE syllabus, Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army, the Janata government (1977-1979) and the problem of Kashmir have been dropped for Indian history, while decolonisation of China, and the Oslo Peace Accords are among the topic that have been dropped for the World history curriculum.