U.P. Board to change ques paper format, discourage rote learning

The outline of the question papers of UP Board’s high school and intermediate examination besides the exams of other senior classes will be decided afresh.

In context of the new National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, the Board is going to organise a two-day workshop of experts before December 15 to re-determine the format of question papers for examinations from classes 9 to 12, said officials.

Experts will brainstorm on points like what proportion of other types of questions including those of ‘high order thinking skills’ (HOTS) are to be included in the question papers and what should be the number of simple, normal and difficult questions in a question paper, they added.

The objective of the change will be to help increase conceptual understanding among students instead of rote learning and just learning for exams. After preparing the new format, it will be sent to the state government and can be implemented from the 2026 edition of the examinations after a formal approval to the move, officials said.

UP Board secretary Bhagwati Singh said, “The workshop on the new format of question papers will also improve the understanding of the subject experts of UP Board of the change being envisaged.”

Education experts believe that the current nature of secondary school examinations, including high school and intermediate exams along with entrance exams and today’s coaching culture, is causing a lot of harm, especially at the secondary school level.

Instead of actual learning, the students are spending their valuable time just passing the exams, taking coaching and preparing for tests. These exams force students to learn very limited material in a single stream. There is a need to redesign Board exams to encourage the overall development of students. Board exams will now be designed in such a way that they can mainly test the basic abilities and aptitudes of the students instead of months of coaching and memorising, officials maintain.