Sunday, September 4 2005 18:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: In a radical step to reduce stress on students, the NCERT has proposed to make the Class ten examinations optional for students who remain in the same school till class XII.

The draft National Curriculum Framework (NCF), which will be taken up for discussion by the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) this week, says the students of Class X can be promoted to the next standard in the same school on the basis of internal examinations.

However, those who want to move to a different school or other institutions after Class X will have to take the Board examinations.

The step was mooted as a way to reduce stress on students, an NCERT official said.

The CABE will discuss the proposal during its two-day meeting, starting here from Tuesday (Sept 6, 2005).

The NCF also recommends reducing the time of examination in which 25-40 per cent of questions would be of short answer type and the rest multiple choices.

The educational authorities want to make sure that most of the students can complete their paper and revise answers without feeling stressed.

The NCERT had earlier proposed to do way with the system of pass and fail and instead introduce the concept of re-examination.

Earlier, the CBSE had proposed to allow students 15 minutes before the start of examinations to go through their question papers.