Bangalore: With many students not attempting an entire section of reformatted questions in the SSLC examination, the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board is all set to review the question-paper pattern next academic year. The pattern needs to be made "foolproof", according to T.M. Kumar, Director of the KSEEB.

Speaking to The Hindu here on Monday, he said the new examination system had received a mixed reaction. Teachers were happy with the new system as it allowed for 100 per cent coverage of the syllabus. "Moreover, under the new system, each paper has 12 versions. This has helped bring down malpractice," he said.

The students are confident of scoring higher under the new system as they only have to pick the right answer from options.

"Making 12 versions of the question paper is tough," Mr. Kumar said. "Those who set the paper need to be really good, as the new version tests the analytical capability of candidates," he added.

However, educationists had criticised a few aspects of the new examination system. "Several people were concerned about the chance factor. Moreover, it has been found that quite a few students have not attempted to answer the short-answer questions under Part B," he said.

Mr. Kumar said the board had decided to consolidate the system introduced the previous academic year, but the shortcomings would be kept in mind. "There is no going back now. There is a need for a wide-ranged discussion. We will try to find ways to improve the new examination system," he said.

He said language teachers were concerned over the introduction of multiple-choice questions. The system was unheard of. The decision to test students' knowledge of languages under the new system was questioned. "The question now is what extent should language papers be text-based/analytical," he said. Mr. Kumar said there were a few ways to overcome the shortcomings in the new examination system. "Since many students have not even attempted to answer the short-answer questions under Part B, we thought that the problem could be solved by fixing minimum marks required from each part. Then, a candidate would have to answer questions from both parts," he said.

He said the KSEEB would hold a discussion with teachers on "minor changes" that needed to be made to the new system in June. "After the discussions, we will send the blueprint for the next academic year by the end of June," he added.

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