CBSE Stops Open-Book Examinations for Classes 9 and 11

CBSE stops open book examinations for students for classes 9 and 11 as it hindered students’ critical abilities.

Representational image of exam stress. (Photo: iStockPhoto)

Two years after it was introduced, CBSE has decided that students of class 9 and 11 can no longer carry textbooks to examination halls from the 2017-2018 academic year since the board believes that this practice was hindering development of students' critical abilities.

The Central Board of Secondary Education has decided to discontinue Open Text Based Assessment (OTBA) as negative feedback has been received from schools about the system, board officials said.

Based on discussion with various stakeholders, the board has decided to withdraw OTBA from the Scheme of Studies in Classes 9 and 11 from the Session 2017-18 after we got feedback from schools that the system was hindering the development of critical abilities of students.

A senior CBSE official

OTBA was introduced by CBSE in Class 9 for Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Science and final examination of Class 11 in a few subjects such as Economics, Biology and Geography from March 2014.

Under OTBA, students were provided text materials four months in advance, and they were allowed to carry the case studies during the examination.

The students were allowed to refer to their notes or textbooks while answering questions. The focus was not on rote-learning, but on applying that information critically.