By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 14: Despite various efforts over the past two decades, the pass percentage for SSLC students has remained relatively unchanged.
In a bid to turn the tables, the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE) has introduced significant changes to the format of question papers for Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exams in an effort to improve the state’s long-stagnant pass percentage.
The changes, which apply to subjects like English, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, and Health and Physical Education, come under the newly implemented ‘Scheme of Assessment’ and ‘Sample Question Papers.’
With the new question paper format and assessment scheme, the government aims to improve the long standing stagnant pass percentage of the state, an official from the Education department said.
The board has restructured the question paper format after feedback where students struggled with the complexity of multiple sections and sub-sections. Now, the question papers will have sections for multiple choice questions, long format and short format questions.
Further, Mathematics and Science will now be compulsory subjects for all students, bringing the total number of mandatory subjects back to six, which was the case earlier, but in 2011, five subjects were made mandatory.
One of the major changes is the introduction of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) worth 30 marks in each subject. This change is aimed at helping students improve their scores by allowing them to recognize correct answers from given options, thereby reducing the difficulty level of the exam.
The decision to make Science and Mathematics compulsory for all students is also seen as an effort to enhance logical thinking and problem-solving skills from an early age.