CBSE political science paper a cause for concern

Posted On: 16/02/2015 Updated On:

New Delhi: More than changes in any other paper, political science seems to be worrying students and teachers most. Students who've written their pre-board and mock exams in the older 35-question pattern are concerned about what the changes mean for their time-management strategies.
"We've been conditioned to write the 35-questions papers," says a 12th-grade humanities student who discovered there are changes from a report published a few days ago. "I have trained myself to finish the one and two-mark questions in half-and-hour. You have to think more and write more for the long answers. Those who struggled to complete the old paper will never finish this one." "This is an absolutely different format altogether," says Hema Chakraborty, student at The Indian School, "It takes time just to get into the groove of it."

Schools don't agree on whether the Central Board of Secondary Education informed them in time or not. Ameeta Mulla Wattal, principal, Springdales School, Pusa Road, says the changes were announced in the "Highlights of Curriculum Document 2014-15 for the examination to be held in March, 2015" dated, June 6, 2014. "The circular's been out for nine months. Schools should keep checking the CBSE website and not wait for paper copies to arrive," says Mulla-Wattal. Vandana Chandoke and Abha Malik who teach the subject at Delhi Public School, RK Puram and Sanskriti respectively, say they've been setting 27-question papers since 2013.

CBSE officials have mentioned the curriculum document online but the circulars in hardcopy didn't reach everyone. Chandoke confirms she didn't receive a circular in hardcopy but saw changes online. Tania Joshi, principal, The Indian School, says she learnt of the changes in December - when the sample papers were issued. "The change in the history syllabus was announced a year ago. But we didn't get any circular for political science," says Joshi. "I do tele-counselling for the CBSE and had a student from Jharkhand called who didn't have a clue. I was able to counsel because I teach the subject."

"The CBSE is forgetting that every CBSE school in the country doesn't have internet connection and not every part of the country has a reliable supply of electricity," adds another principal, of a prominent central Delhi school, who'd asked her teachers to change tack after the summer vacations (of 2014) "on a hunch." Once the sample papers arrived and the "hunch" was confirmed, a text message was sent out to students to alert them to the changes. "I happened to tell teachers to expect changes after the summer vacations. I told them there's a document and I perceive some changes. The sample papers came only in December. Changes should not be made mid-session irrespective of the type of changes. Teachers plan delivery of the lessons in advance. A group of 12 schools had requested the [former] chairman of the CBSE not to make changes mid-session."

And the changes are major even for those who've known of them since 2013. The number of questions has been reduced from 35 to 27 and the marks distribution for the paper is now thus: one mark (questions 1 to 5); two marks (6 to 10); four (11 to 16); five (17 to 21) and six (22 to 27). "The political science paper is a 100-mark one so there are no practical?s or projects. And now there are fewer one and two-markers. If you make the paper too subjective, students who have understood but have limited vocabulary or find it difficult to express themselves will not be able to do well in these. Earlier they could get marks writing single sentences. Then there is greater emphasis on maps but no map list," explains Chandoke.

More News

Mizoram Board To Announce Class 12 Results Today

The Mizoram Board of School Education will announce the MBSE Class 12 results today. A notification issued by the board on Wednesday said that result of the Class-12 examinations will be declared by noon today. The MBSE HSSLC result 2021 will be decl...

Posted On: 18/06/2021

JEE, NEET: List Of Top Medical, Engineering Colleges In India

With the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), the Education Ministry ranks top institutions of higher education under different categories. These include categories for engineering and medical colleges, among others. Admission to undergra...

Posted On: 17/06/2021

MHT CET Could Be Held By 1st Week Of August: Maharashtra Minister

The CET or the Common Entrance Test for professional courses after Class 12th in Maharashtra could be held in the last week of July or first week of August, Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant said here on Tuesday. Speaki...

Posted On: 16/06/2021

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2021 Date Announced

The Consortium of National Law Universities has announced the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) date. CLAT 2021 will be held on July 23. The admission test will be held between 2 pm and 4 pm for both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programmes...

Posted On: 15/06/2021

UP Board Class 10, 12 Result 2021: Guidelines Soon, No Merit List This Year

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that the Board of Secondary Education will soon issue the guidelines and prepare the results of Classes 10 and 12 students. In the absence of examinations, the Board will not release a ...

Posted On: 14/06/2021

VITEEE Result 2021 Declared; Direct Link

The Vellore Institute of Technology has declared the VITEEE result 2021 or VIT Engineering Entrance Examination Result 2021 on the official website– vit.ac.in. Those who have appeared in the examination need to enter their application number an...

Posted On: 12/06/2021

NIFT 2021 Final Result Announced For BDes, Other Programmes

The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) has announced final results for admission to BDes, BFTech and other programmes. Students who appeared in the interview round after clearing the preliminary entrance examination can visit the officia...

Posted On: 11/06/2021

States Gear Up For Entrance Exams After Cancelling 12th Board Exams

As Class 12 board exams have been cancelled by most of the states and the two central boards – CBSE and CISCE – the next step for the students is taking admission to undergraduate courses. Some of the top universities – DU, JNU, Jam...

Posted On: 10/06/2021

Maharashtra MHT CET 2021: Registration Begins Today, Know Details

Registrations for the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MHT) CET 2021 will begin today, June 8, Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant said. The application forms will be available on the official website, mhtcet2021.mahacet.or...

Posted On: 09/06/2021

ICSI Releases Revised Schedule For CS June 2021 Exam

Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has released the revised schedule for CS June 2021 exam. The Institute, on May 4, had notified that the CS June exams were postponed. The council has released the exam schedule for the Foundation progr...

Hyderabad, Telangana

PGDM

Apply Brochure

Admission Open

Atria Institute of Technology

Bangalore, Karnataka

MBA

Apply Brochure