Since the Karnataka government proposed to introduce the open book examination system for primary schools, they have come across with mixed responses. The Primary and Secondary Education Minister Nanjaiah Mahesh made the announcement last month. Some experts were of the view that the recent plan had the potential to redefine the teaching methodology, while others expressed reservations. Following the proposal, now a school in Mysuru will adopt the system and will conduct a mock test in the same format from today, August 7.

According to local reports, Nrupatunga Primary and Higher Primary School, located in Ramakrishna Nagar, Mysuru will experiment the open book examination by organising a 25-marks test for class 5 to class 10 students. This means that they will be allowed to write the test keeping their textbooks ready by their side for reference. All the students will be given one hour to answer all the questions. 150 students from these classes will sit for the Open Book Test. The question paper will have 20 questions, 10 will be quite easy which students will be able to find directly from the books.

The remaining 10 questions are aimed to be more complicated, and only those who were attentive in the classroom sessions will be able to answer them on time. This test will be for subjects such as Science, Social Science and languages—English, Hindi and Kannada. However, there will not be an open book test for Mathematics. The School’s secretary said that it is just an experiment to see how the exam works and if students are benefitted. Accordingly, after getting the results, they will submit a report to the State government and the Primary Education Minister.

The idea to propose such an approach was to challenge the teachers to adopt a new teaching methodology and frame the questions related to the concepts, not picking it up from the content. Not everyone is in support of open book exams stating that the move will have an adverse impact on the learning process of the child. In the open book examination, the students will have to be thorough with the study material to do well in it.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 07, 2018 11:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).