18 May,2012 07:14 AM IST | | A Correspondent
According to a circular issued by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) recently, students appearing for their Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) board examination of 2013 will have to score at least 25 per cent in written papers for all four subjects including physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics.
As per the new rule, the examination papers will include questions to test the students' knowledge and analytical skills rather than their rote learning skills. The circular also stated that instead of two papers of 40 marks each, these subjects will have a single paper of 70 marks.
"The marks for practical exams in these subjects have been increased from 20 to 30 and 80 per cent questions in all four subjects will be based on knowledge and analytical skills," said MSBSHSE chairman Sarjerao Jadhav.
The maths and statistics paper will have one theory paper of 80 marks, while the 20-mark practicals will remain the same. For physics, students will have to study the entire 19 chapters for one paper, which until now were divided into two papers of 10 and 11 chapters.
Along with this change, the board has also introduced chapters on RTI, ITC and sports as additional subjects next year. u00a0
