AP Inter 1st year exams cancelled to reduce academic pressure on students: Report

NEW DELHI: The Andhra Pradesh Education Department has announced significant reforms to the intermediate education system leading to a transformative shift in curriculum, assessments, and examination structures. According to these changes, there will be no public exams for the first year of intermediate education, Times Now reported.

Public exams will now take place only after the second year, starting from the 2025-26 academic year. Under the new structure, colleges will conduct internal exams during the first year to assess students' progress.

Under the new structure, colleges will conduct internal exams during the first year to evaluate the performance of students. This shift is designed to create a less stressful academic environment, allowing students more time to adjust to the new curriculum.

The department is inviting feedback from students and parents on this change, with the deadline for submissions set for January 26, 2025.

Balanced approach towards learning

The initiative aims to promote a balanced approach to learning and assessment, which is expected to yield better educational outcomes.

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As per Times Now report, the first-year Intermediate curriculum will align with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus, bringing Andhra Pradesh's educational system in line with national standards. The state’s Board of Intermediate Education (BIEAP) is also set to update textbooks and syllabi that have remained unchanged for years, ensuring they meet current academic demands and the requirements of competitive exams.

BIEAP Major Reforms: Subject-specific revisions

Mathematics: The current syllabus is more extensive than the NCERT’s standards. Proposed revisions will streamline the content, potentially merging two separate papers into a single, more cohesive examination.

Biology: For students in the BiPC (Biology, Physics, Chemistry) stream, the board is considering a consolidation of Botany and Zoology into one unified Biology subject, in alignment with the NCERT structure.

20 marks allocated for internal assessments, promoting continuous evaluation.