Special Correspondent
Panaji
The Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education on Friday stated that its task of setting winter exam question papers for the students of Class IX this academic year went on smoothly, and was successful in every respect.
The Goa Board, as a part of implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), has been entrusted with the task of setting up question papers for the two annual exams of Class IX, one conducted in mid-November, while the other to be held at the March-end.
Goa Board chairman Bhagirath Shetye told ‘The Navhind Times’ that the mid-November exam for Class IX was conducted in altogether 410 secondary schools around Goa, with the question papers made available by the Goa Board for these schools at the taluka-wise centres. “From this academic year, the Goa Board will be setting papers for Class IX, Class X and Class XII,” he added.
Speaking further, Shetye said that the role of the Goa Board in setting question paper for Class IX is restricted to setting them, delivering them to respective schools, providing answer key to the questions, and handling discrepancies, if any in the answers.
“This year, some of the schools complained that the maths and science questions papers set by the Goa Board for Class IX were tough,” he said, adding that this may have happened as the Goa Board was setting it for the first time.
Incidentally, out of the total 10 subjects for Class IX, Goa Board sets question papers for only core subjects namely three languages, mathematics, science and social science.
The Goa Board chairman said that the schools have been permitted to correct all the answer papers of Class IX. “The result of both the exams will be considered while preparing the final result of the Class IX,” he added, informing that the marks will have to be uploaded on the Goa Board website.
Shetye also said that few Class IX students had gone to other states to represent Goa in sports events, during the exam. “They were allowed to appear for the exam later, with the schools allowed to set question papers for such students.”
The Goa Board chairman further stated that the Class IX students need to clear at least 8 of their total 10 subjects, for being declared pass. “Students failing in one or two core subjects will be declared pass, only if they score 80 per cent marks in one or two elective subjects.
