GUWAHATI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced last week that it will soon begin a pilot run of Open Book Examinations (OBE) for students from Classes 9 to 12, in select schools for subjects like English, Mathematics, and Science for Classes 9 and 10, and English, Mathematics, and Biology for Classes 11 and 12.
The open book exams plan invited mixed reactions from social media users ranging from appreciation to criticism, while a section of social media users also expressed indifference.
GPlus conducted a social media poll on three platforms to understand what the common people’s thoughts were in this issue. In the poll which took place on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), a total of 772 users expressed their opinions in the comments.
A majority of the users on Instagram were against the plan and said that it was not a good idea and will lead to students becoming lazy and lead to indiscipline, while some users stated that depending on the questions, it might lead to the students actually reading the books and understanding the concepts instead of rote-learning the syllabus.
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The second sentiment was echoed by most of the users on Facebook who felt that open book exams would be a good idea and that it will promote logical thinking and problem-solving skills and lead to students actually reading the books to locate the answer instead of just mugging up prepared notes without understanding the concepts, while others said that it may also reduce exam stress in students.
At the same time, users on X expressed mixed reactions on the announcement, with some supporting the plan while many others gave negative answers. While supporting the plan, an X user named @mpbharadwaj said, “All exams should be open book. Then there will be no question of cheating. Open book exams are generally such that you have to apply your knowledge and logic to answer. Books will be there with you but you won't find the direct answer in them.”
On the other hand, a user named ‘kabrabampritam’ on Instagram criticized the idea and stated, “No, it is not good because the students will not work hard and they will not go through those tough circumstances which is very essential for a student in order to realize the importance of discipline, dedication, etc.”
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Another person named Mudit Golchha also stated on Instagram that it was not a good idea and said, “Open book should be preferred only for professional exams or other higher level exams. For 9 to 12 class kids it may not be a good idea.”
A user on Instagram going by the username ‘ben_and_the_home_of_paws’ said that it would depend on the type of questions asked and said, “It’s a good strategic move to enhance thinking skills for nurturing students if the questions are not simply and directly based on the bookish knowledge, rather think analysis and communicated via the responses to that questionnaires mindset.”
Rimakshi Choudhury on Facebook supported the move and said, “Yes, atleast people will read the book to know where and what to look for the answer instead of just mugging up prepared notes without understanding the concepts.”
However, many of the user reactions also expressed disappointment that the initiative was not announced earlier when they were in school.