CBSE to Consider Open Book Exams for Classes 9 to 12

Source: The Indian Express

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is to consider Open Book Examinations (OBE) for students of classes 9th to 12th based on the recommendations of the new National Curriculum Framework (NCF) released in 2023. As per sources, CBSE has proposed to conduct a trial run for open book examinations in November or December of 2024 at a few schools on some subjects. 

The OBE trial run will be conducted for English, Mathematics & Science subjects for Classes 9th and 10th, and in English, Mathematics, and Biology subjects for Classes 11th & 12th. It aims to evaluate a student's thinking ability, critical analysis, and time taken to complete the test. Based on the overall feedback from the trial run, the board will take a decision about whether OBEs should be adopted for all its schools.

OBE is a mode of examination that allows students to carry and use their notes, textbooks, or any other study material as a reference during the examination. Even though it sounds easy, one must understand that the examination is very challenging as it requires students to understand the question and make sense of the demanding methods, and concepts to reach an answer rather than just memorizing the concepts, methods, equations, etc.