Himachal Pradesh Government has reinstated the annual assessment system for Classes X and XII board exams — thus eliminating the term system for the two classes. With this, the students of Classes X and XII will now only appear for their annual exams once in a year.
“The present State Government, which is working with the aim to revamp the system, has taken a significant decision in the field of education. The Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has approved the reinstatement of the annual assessment system,” said the government’s official statement.
As per the statement, the Chief Minister said that the term system was not beneficial for education and students’ interests. “Due to the term system, the children are getting less time to revise their syllabus and due to having two examinations in one academic session, the studies of the children are also getting hampered. The process of conducting exams and checking papers also took a considerable amount of time for completing the process of examination and evaluation,” said the Chief Minister.
“Additionally, it imposed a financial burden on the students, as they had to pay double the fees for appearing in exams twice. Besides, holidays and co-curricular activities were also scheduled according to the annual pattern,” he said.
Himachal is a geographically-diverse State, with variations in teaching days due to different holidays and weather conditions in various regions. As per geographical condition, there are five vacation zones in the state — that is summer, winter, Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu, and other winter-affected areas.
Sukhu said that the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu-Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand, along with the CBSE Board, already 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 also, he said.
The Chief Minister said that the State Government was actively working to improve the system across various domains, aiming to provide accessible and high-quality education to students. The reinstatement of the annual system is a step in this direction, and further measures will be taken to enhance student quality and education in the future, he added.