Government Decides to Call Off Semester System in High Schools
Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SB)
Bangalore, Jul 31: Minister for primary and secondary education Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri said the government has decided to call off the semester system in the interest of better education with immediate effect. The semester system for classes eight and nine was introduced a few years ago after students and teachers resisted introduction of trimester system.
“Students have to gear up for the tenth class examination (SSLC) and the attempt will be to prepare them better commencing from class eight and nine”, said Kageri. However, he added that there will be no change in the syllabus or even the textbooks for standard VIII and IX. The present semester examination at the end of the first half of the academic year would be termed as a mid-term examination and the finals will be held at the end of the year.
Kageri said reforms for the SSLC examinations would continue and objective-type questions (multiple-choice questions) would be for 25 marks while the essay type questions will be for 75 marks in all the subjects. On the distribution of textbooks and complaints of delay, the minister said nearly 90 per cent of the textbooks for government schools (free of cost) and that of the sale copies (nearly 90 per cent of the requirement for children in the unaided schools) had been distributed. He added that the shortage will be rectified in about a week.