English paper easier than expected, say Class 12 CBSE students

Over 12 lakh students appeared for the Class 12 English examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Saturday. Many students across Delhi, appearing for English Elective and English Core, said the paper was easy and they expected to score well.

“The paper was easier than the sample papers we practised,” said Daksh Nagarkoti of Ahlcon Public School. “The questions were very direct.”

Jahnvi Mishra, a science student, said that she expects to score above 80. “The questions from the literature section were very easy. Overall it was an easy paper in comparison to papers in schools. The paper could easily be completed if one timed it well,” she said. Akash Devrani, another class 12 student, said all the questions were from the syllabus. “I finished the paper before time and had enough time to revise,” he added.

“The changed pattern enabled the students to complete the paper on time as the number of passages in Section A has been reduced to two,” Tripura Mulasi, English teacher at Mount Abu Public School in Rohini, said. “The topics included in Section B were thought provoking where their spot thinking ability and awareness were put to test. It included most of the compositions related to the contemporary topics.”

The paper was divided into three compulsory sections — reading, writing, and literature — with internal choices. Some complained that a part in the paper failed to include questions from the two books prescribed by the CBSE. “There is a mechanism to take care of such issues before finalising the marking scheme so that students are not put to any disadvantage,” CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma said.

CBSE said the three-hour examination was conducted smoothly across 4,940 centres for 12,23,291 registered candidates in the country and abroad. The examination will be conducted between 15 February to 3 April.