BIEAP proposes new AP Inter syllabus, marking pattern, subject combinations; suggestions open till January 26

NEW DELHI: The Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh (BIEAP) has recently proposed academic reforms aimed at improving the Intermediate Education system. Based on these reforms, the board has proposed changes in the Andhra Pradesh intermediate exam syllabus and marking scheme. The board has also proposed to make the second language subject as an elective and introduce additional subjects to provide more options for students.

Recently, the board proposed to remove the intermediate 1st-year board examination in order to reduce exam stress on students and to conduct only the intermediate 2nd-year board examination. The BIEAP invites suggestions from the public, students, parents, and educators regarding the proposed reforms by January 26, 2025. More details about the proposed reforms will be available on the website: bie.ap.gov.in.

As per the official press note, the BIEAP claimed that the current syllabus for the two-year Intermediate courses has not undergone a revision over the past several years, with the last updates made between 2012 and 2019 for various subjects such as sciences, arts and language subjects.

The board stated that the School Education Department has introduced NCERT books for Class 10 in the academic year 2024-25. Therefore, there is a need to introduce NCERT books for Inter 1st year in the academic year 2025-26 to ensure a seamless transition. Additionally, it is necessary to reform the syllabus to align with the curriculum used for competitive examinations, such as JEE and NEET.

“As per the feedback and requests received from stakeholders, parents, students and academicians, the following academic reforms pertaining to Intermediate Education are being proposed by BIE, AP,” the official press note read.

Proposed syllabus revision plan by BIEAP

The board stated that a subject committee for each of the 14 subjects was constituted on October 1, 2024, comprising university professors, degree college lecturers, and junior lecturers. As per the subject committee report, the following changes are proposed

Science (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology):

• 1st Year: Revised textbooks as per NCERT from AY 2025-26.
• 2nd Year: Reduced the syllabus for AY 2025-26 as per NCERT Syllabus; full NCERT-based revision by AY 2026-27.

Arts & Humanities (Civics, Economics, History, Commerce):

• 1st Year: Revised textbooks as per BIE syllabus from AY 2025-26.
• 2nd Year: No changes for AY 2025-26; Revised textbooks by AY 2026-27.

Languages (English, Telugu, Hindi Sanskrit, Urdu):

• 1st Year: New textbooks from AY 2025-26.
• 2nd Year: No changes for AY 2025-26; revised textbooks by AY 2026-27.

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Proposal for new subject combinations

The board stated that the BIE currently offers two languages and four core subjects for Science students, and three core subjects for Humanities students. Some universities have expressed concerns about this structure, leading to the demand for more flexibility in subject combinations. The new subject combinations proposal is given below.

• 1st Subject: English will be a compulsory subject
• 2nd Subject: Elective (Can choose language or core subject, 25 options are available, list will be uploaded on BIE Portal, bie.ap.gov.in)
• 3rd, 4th and 5th Subject: Core Subjects from science, humanities
• 6th Subject: Optional Additional subject. “If a student has taken the 6th subject, and if he/she fails in any one of the first five subjects, the same will be replaced by the 6th subject provided the candidate satisfies the scheme of studies i.e., after replacement English should remain as one of the main five subjects,” the official press note read.
• The board has uploaded the subject-wise revised syllabus on the BIE portal at bie.ap.gov.in for inviting suggestions from the public, students, parents and academicians.

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Changes in examination marks pattern

To align with the CBSE marking pattern, the BIE has proposed changes in the weightage between theory exams and internal assessments. “The proposal is in line with the NEP 2020 guidelines, which advocates for assessment of higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, critical thinking, and problem-solving, alongside descriptive elements for a deeper understanding,” the press note read.

The proposed change in examination marks pattern by BIEAP is given in the table below.