Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) is once again facing criticism for repeated mistakes in exams, with students raising concerns over out-of-syllabus questions in multiple subjects.
After the recent controversy over an out-of-syllabus question in the Class 10 English and Urdu papers and a mistake in SST paper, Class 11 students have now expressed outrage after finding three out-of-syllabus questions carrying 16 marks in their Mathematics exam.
The latest error occurred on February 25 in the Class 11 Mathematics paper, where students found three questions—Q23 (4 marks), Q29 (6 marks), and Q30 (6 marks)—from topics that were removed after “syllabus rationalization”. These included Polar Form of Complex Numbers, Solutions of Trigonometric Equations, and Arithmetic Progressions.
“If these topics were removed, why is JKBOSE still including them in the question paper? These repeated mistakes are unacceptable and affecting our results,” said a frustrated student.
On February 24, the Class 10 English paper had its very first question from Speak Up—a poem that had been officially removed from the syllabus.
“How can a deleted chapter be included in the paper? This was a five-mark mistake by JKBOSE,” said an aggrieved student, Abrar.
On February 20, students appearing for the Class 10 Urdu exam paper were shocked to find that options 2 and 3 of Question No. 10, worth five marks, were from a deleted section of the syllabus.
On February 18, students appearing for the Class 10 Social Studies exam found a multiple-choice question (MCQ) with incorrect answer options.
The question, “Who was the first President of the Indian National Congress?” had none of the four provided options as correct. The given choices were: (A) A.O. Hume, (B) Mahatma Gandhi, (C) S.N. Banerjee, and (D) Lala Lajpat Rai. However, the correct answer is Womesh Chandra Banerjee.
Local news agency JKNS quoted a Joint Secretary in Board of School Education (JKBOSE) Suraj Rathore as saying that a committee of experts is looking into the issue and grace marks will be provided where necessary.
“Yes, we have convened a committee of experts to identify errors. Wherever they are found, we will take corrective measures. I assure students they will not suffer,” he said.
This is not the only issue students have faced recently. JKBOSE has already come under fire for the delayed issuance of admit cards to some students, which caused panic just before exams. Additionally, errors in textbooks, including misprinted content, have further raised concerns about the board’s efficiency.
Adding to the uncertainty, JKBOSE is currently without a permanent head. The tenure of its chairperson ended on January 25, after which the Jammu and Kashmir government granted a one-month extension, which expired yesterday, February 25. With repeated controversies and no clarity on leadership, students and parents are demanding urgent reforms in JKBOSE’s functioning. (JKNS)
