Guwahati: Despite significant criticism, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday stated that the class 10 state board examinations will be held with question papers and answer sheets of 2021.
Addressing the media here in Guwahati, CM Sarma said, “This is an administrative decision taken by SEBA, thus, students need not worry. Moreover, there is no point in wasting public money. As SEBA did not conduct HSLC/AHM examinations in the year 2021 in the manner conducted during the pre-COVID period, the question papers and answer booklets prepared in the year 2021 remained unutilized, and are being used for the year 2022 examination.”
Earlier, through a notification, the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) last Monday informed that this year’s High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Assam High Madrassa (AHM) examinations will be held with last year’s question papers and answer booklets to cut costs.
“As the SEBA did not conduct HSLC/AHM examinations in the year 2021 in the manner conducted during the pre-COVID period, the question papers and answer booklets prepared in the year 2021 remained unutilised, and are being used for the year 2022, to avoid misuse of natural resources,” the notification said.
This decision has led to a huge controversy with the opposition parties and student bodies slamming the SEBA. They claimed that 2021 question papers were prepared with a 30 per cent reduced syllabus, while the content was announced to be cut by 40 per cent in 2022.
A total of 4,31,132 students are registered to sit for the matriculation examination this year to be conducted by the SEBA.
The HSLC and AHM theory examinations are scheduled to start from March 15 and end on March 31.
On the other hand, the practical examinations of this year are already completed.
