Tamil Nadu plans to cut Class XII subjects from six to five

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is planning to reduce the number of subjects for Class XII state board students from six to five.
While those aspiring to pursue engineering may not have to study biology, MBBS aspirants may skip mathematics at the higher secondary level, said Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Examinations (TNDGE) sources.
The government is also planning to merge language papers for Class X, said the sources, adding that the proposals were still in a discussion stage and the cabinet would take a final call.The state board syllabus was revised last year after nearly a gap of 10 years, and the total marks for Class 12 was reduced from 1,200 to 600.
Though the updated content and exam pattern received overall appreciation, questions were also raised over the quantity of syllabus.
Against this backdrop, the state school education department and TNDGE officials had recently held discussions to reduce the burden on children by making some changes in the exam pattern.
Accordingly, separate streams will be created for science students willing to pursue medicine and engineering.
Move may address vacant seat issue
“In addition to language and English, medical aspirants can study physics, chemistry and biology, while biology could be replaced with mathematics for engineering aspirants,” said a TNDGE official, requesting anonymity.
Once the new system comes into place, the total marks will be reduced further from 600 to 500 on the lines of Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE). Besides reducing the stress on students, the move might address the issue of vacant seats in top technical institutions, the official added.
In Tamil Nadu, science toppers apply for both engineering and medicine, and mostly skip their engineering seats once they get seats for MBBS. Despite the efforts of the government to streamline admission, the problem still persists.
As far as Class 10 is concerned, discussions were held to merge both language papers, make changes in question pattern and allow open-book exam at school-level tests, said TNDGE sources.