The Himachal Pradesh government has approved the reinstatement of the annual assessment system for students of grades 10 and 12. The system will enable grades 10 and 12 students in schools affiliated to the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education to appear for their annual exams once a year.
The step has been taken by Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu as the split term system did not yield desired results. The students were getting less time to revise as they were appearing for two examinations, the chief minister said in a statement issued on Sunday.
A considerable amount of time was taken to complete the examination and evaluation processes and it also put an additional financial burden on the students, who had to pay the exam fees twice, he added.
Himachal Pradesh is a geographically diverse state with variations in teaching days due to different holiday patterns that depend on the weather conditions in its various regions, according to the statement.
Neighbouring Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, as well as the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE), follow the annual assessment system. Considering all these factors, the decision was made to abolish the term system and restore the annual system in Himachal Pradesh, Sukhu said.
The state government is actively working to improve the system across various domains to provide accessible and high-quality education to students, he added.