SSC Exams: 65pc weightages fixed for written, 35pc for activity-based tests

The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams will be divided into two parts -- written and activity-based -- under the new curriculum.
The decision was taken in a meeting at the Secretariat yesterday, with Education Minister Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury in the chair.
The written part will carry 65 percent weightage while the activity-based assessments will account for 35 percent weightage.

"However, the weightage is not fixed. This distribution of weightage [65 and 35 percent] has been set only for the next academic year," said Prof Moshiuzzaman, a member (curriculum) of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB).
The weightage for activity-based sections will increase gradually.
The decision to increase the weightage of the written part comes following recommendations by a committee.
The committee, formed by the education ministry to coordinate the implementation of the new curriculum and finalise the assessment method, had recommended a 50-50 weightage.
Moshiuzzaman said despite the change in weightage, the government's goal on ending the students' dependency on memorisation remains unchanged.
"The same weightage will apply to assessments in other classes as well. The activity-based segment covers assignments, presentations, research, demonstrations, problem solving, and planning, among other hands-on tasks," he said.
The written exam questions will be related to the activity-based assessments. The duration of each of the two-part exams will be five hours.
The name of the end-of-class 10 public exam, SSC, will remain unchanged and the exam will be administered by education boards. The National Curriculum Coordination Committee in a meeting will give the final approval for these changes.
Introduced last year, the new curriculum is currently being implemented in classes one to three of primary schools and in classes six to nine of secondary schools.