NCF Draft 2023: Two Board Exams in a Year for CBSE Class 12, Semester System, and Many More Changes

National Curriculum Framework (NCF): An expert panel appointed by the Union government to prepare the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) is likely to recommend twice-yearly board examinations and a semester system for Class 12, as well as the freedom for students to pursue a mix of science and humanities to reduce the rigid boundaries separating arts, commerce, and science in classes 11 and 12. According to reports, a 12-member steering committee led by chairperson K Kasturirangan has proposed 16 choice-based courses for students in Classes 11 and 12. According to reports, there will be eight curricular categories: humanities, science, social science, maths and computing, vocational education, physical education, arts education, and interdisciplinary subjects. Students will be able to choose from a variety of disciplines. A school, for example, could offer Language, Literature, and Philosophy as subjects under the Humanities. Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics will be part of the Science curriculum, while History, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, Economics, and Sociology will be part of the Humanities curriculum.

Once the recommendations, which are being drafted by a 12-member steering committee led by former ISRO chairperson K Kasturirangan, are implemented, the structure of classes 9 and 10 will change dramatically, with students expected to pass eight papers. Currently, most boards, including CBSE, require students to pass at least five subjects in Class 10. The committee is likely to recommend a yearly system for Class 10 students.

Two Board Exams for Class 12

These recommendations include conducting board exams for Class 12 students twice a year. This ensures that a student has the option of selecting the higher of the two percentages. Furthermore, it would provide students with another opportunity to score better in board exams when they are ready. At present, the CBSE board exam for class 12 is conducted once a year

Mixing of Subjects

In the past also the mixing or combining of stream subjects has been proposed. A student would no longer be limited to only taking subjects linked to one stream – science, arts, or commerce – but might also take a mix of science and arts subjects. As of now, students who wanted to study science and mathematics were restricted to subjects related to these areas only, whereas those who wanted to study commerce could only study economics, accounting, and other related subjects, but not hardcore science subjects like biology, chemistry, and so on.

However, these are still suggestions and proposals that have not been approved by the education ministry and are still in the draft phases. The draft would most likely be posted online for feedback and ideas from more diverse groups. This is a draft for a different and new syllabus that has yet to be released and published.