The National Curriculum Coordination Committee (NCCC) has decided to reduce the subjects and marks in this year's Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) examinations. According to the new decision, there will now be a total of 650 marks in seven subjects in JSC. Currently, there are 10 subjects, including the fourth subject, with a total of 850 marks. On the other hand, 200 marks have been reduced to 950 marks in JDC.
The decision was taken at the NCCC meeting held at the Secretariat on Thursday (May 31). The ministry will now issue an order in this regard.
According to the new decision, there will be one exam for 100 marks for the first and second papers of Bengali in JSC. There will also be two exams for 100 marks for English. Now, there will be two separate exams for the two papers, with the marks for both papers being 150. Apart from this, according to the new decision, the exam for the fourth subject will now be evaluated continuously in the educational institution itself. The marks have been reduced by an equivalent amount. It has also been decided to reduce the marks for the JDC by an equivalent amount. There too, the fourth subject will be evaluated continuously in the educational institution. The marks for the other subjects in both exams will be the same as before.
The NCCC has the authority to make changes and additions to public examination textbooks and curricula. The Education Secretary is the chairman of this committee ex officio. The committee chairman and Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, Md. Sohrab Hossain, announced these decisions after a meeting at the ministry on Thursday.
The secretary said that along with reducing the number of subjects, the decision has also been made to reduce the syllabus. He claimed that this decision was taken to reduce the pressure on students.
The secretary believes that even though this decision comes five months after the start of the academic year, it will not cause any inconvenience to students. The JSC and JDC exams are scheduled to be held in November.
Sohrab said that the syllabus for 100 marks has been revised to reduce the subjects of Bengali and English, "It may be that you will have to write one line of MCQ."
The Inter-Education Board Coordination Sub-Committee, an organization of education board chairmen, proposed reducing the marks and subjects in the JSC and JDC exams on May 8. The Ministry of Education also agreed to this proposal in a meeting on May 20. Then, a policy decision was made in the NCCC meeting on May 27. It was finalized in Thursday's meeting.
Secretary of the Technical and Madrasa Education Department Md. Alamgir, Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University Professor Md. Akhtaruzzaman, former BUET teacher Enamul Haque, Director General of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Professor Md. Mahbubur Rahman, Chairman of Dhaka Board Md. Ziaul Haque and all members of the NCCC were present at the meeting.
