CBSE scraps OTBA for Classes 9 and 11

Two years after it was introduced, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) decides to discontinue Open Text-Based Assessment (OTBA) for Classes 9 and 11 from the upcoming academic year. According to sources, the board had received negative feedback from schools about the mentioned system.

OTBA was introduced by CBSE from March 2014 in Class 9 for subjects like Hindi, English, Maths, Science and Social Science. In Class 11 it was introduced for few subjects such as Economics, Biology, and Geography.

The CBSE now says that the objectives of the OTBA were hardly met and “based on the feedback of stakeholders, the board subsequent to the resolution passed in the Governing Body Meeting, has decided to withdraw the OTBA from the Scheme of Studies in Classes 9 and 11 from the Session 2017-18”.

Under the open text based assessment students were provided text material four months in advance and they were allowed to carry the case studies during the examination. “Schools had to prepare question paper out of the material provided by the CBSE and students were asked questions based on that,” said a senior official. Under the system, 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.

In 2015, the HRD ministry had urged state and central school boards to consider introducing open-book tests in secondary and senior secondary level examinations. The suggestion was made by the School Education Secretary at a meeting of 42 education boards held on October 28 in 2015.

*inputs from Hindustan Times