The board has decided to do away with the 'killer' subjects like English and mathematics wherein a majority of students fail and replaced them with their 'easier' versions. Of course the original contents would be made optional for those who want to opt for a career in engineering and medicine. In fact, the National Council of Educational Research and Training had directed various state boards to modernise their syllabus according to global pattern wherein stress should be on research and practicals.
As a part of its efforts, the board is introducing an easier version of mathematics – 'Functional mathematics' – from next academic session (2008-09) in ninth standard. The difficult version would be known as 'Applied mathematics' and it would be optional for medical and engineering aspirants. The syllabus would be introduced in standard X (for SSC examinations) from 2010. Till now, the syllabus for board examinations used to change after every 10 years.
“We've been making changes in our syllabus as per CBSE pattern. Our focus is also on improving our results. There will be lot of local content in our syllabus as category of students appearing in our examinations differ from those of CBSE,” state education minister Vasant Purke told TOI.
