Bangalore: A few students celebrated, while a few others contemplated about their next move. With the announcement of the SSLC results the anxiety among students appears to have subsided.

Speaking to The Hindu minutes after receiving her results on Saturday, Amrutha Magaji said that a few of her classmates felt that it was difficult to score well under the new system. "I am not sure which is better. One drawback I found in the new system is that no extra sheets are provided and the given space is insufficient," she said.

She also said that the opinion of her friends was that it was easier to score well under the old pattern.

"There is a feeling that there is no scope for elaborating the answers under the new system," she said.

Parents, however, support the new examination pattern. "I prefer the new system. Students will only have to choose the right option from those provided under Part A and write short answers for questions under Part B. I wish the new system existed when I wrote my SSLC examination," Manjula M., a parent, said.

The results belie the students' opinions. The pass percentage has increased from 62.46 to 68.46 this year. "The increase in the pass percentage only goes to show that the new system has worked. The apprehensions expressed by a few parents and students are unwarranted," said Sharada A., a teacher.

Supporting the new system, she said it helped in covering the syllabus 100 per cent. She also said that the number of malpractices had also been curbed to a certain extent.

"The only drawback is that since there is no fixed minimum marks to be secured under the two sections, several students have reportedly skipped Part B. The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) has promised to look into this issue and find a solution," she said.

Shylaja N., a parent, said that the new examination system was "quite good". "However, I heard from my son's friends that the invigilators at a few centres in the city allowed students to discuss and copy. If this was the case in the city, I am not sure of how strict the invigilators were at the examination centres in the rural areas," she said.

The increase in the pass percentage was not surprising, said another parent. He said that since it was easy to score under the new system, it was only natural that there was an increase in the pass percentage.

Anu J., a student, said he preferred the old system. "Though, our school has been preparing us for the entire year to answer questions under the new system, I was still anxious ahead of the examination. I prefer the old system. It gave us scope to elaborate on the answers and explain in our own way. This is not possible under the new system, where the space to answer the questions is limited. We are forced to be brief and to the point," he said.

Though the new system has received a mixed reaction from parents and students, there is no denying the fact that it has helped improve the students' performance.

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