Common Question Papers for Onam Exams Adopted by Majority of Higher Secondary Schools

In Kerala, most higher secondary schools are set to utilize common question papers for their upcoming first terminal examinations on August 16. The General Education Department had initially mandated that schools create their own question papers for the Onam exams, forbidding the use of papers crafted by teacher associations or private entities.

However, many schools have resisted this directive due to time constraints in producing individualized question papers. As a solution, a collective of Principals has prepared common question papers and shared them via email for interested schools. The suggestion was also made to print these papers after incorporating the institution’s name.

In the past, the General Education Department used to create and distribute question papers for Onam and Christmas exams to schools, but this practice has now been limited to classes up to the 10th grade. Additionally, for higher-secondary level exams, teacher organizations traditionally formulated question papers. This year, the General Education Department warned Principals against using papers from private agencies or teacher groups, emphasizing the utilization of question banks aligned with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).