Panaji: As per the common exam introduced from Grades III to VIII last year as part of the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP), Goa State Council for Research and Training (GSCERT) will provide question papers for the common exam this year too for these grades. However, this year, SCERT has introduced some changes, including optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets, which will be used by students to answer multiple-choice questions (MCQs).GSCERT has said the use of OMR sheets is being introduced to “enhance students’ preparedness for future competitive and other OMR-based examinations”.While the first semester examination will take place in Oct, the second will take place in March/April, GSCERT director Meghana Shetgaonkar said.For students of the preparatory stage from Grades III to V, an external exam will be conducted based on papers provided by GSCERT in two language subjects, mathematics and The World Around Us or social science. While each paper will be of 30 marks, 40% of the questions will be MCQs and 60% will be of subjective type.“The MCQs shall be answered on OMR sheets which will be supplied by the GSCERT to all students along with the respective question papers. The subjective questions shall be answered on the answer sheets provided by the schools. The introduction of OMR-based answering is intended to familiarise students with the use of OMR sheets and to provide them with early exposure to this mode of assessment,” SCERT has said.For students of the middle stage from Grades VI to VIII, an external exam will be conducted in all core subjects, including three languages, mathematics, science and social science. While each paper will be of 50 marks, 40% of the questions will be objective type or MCQs to be answered on SCERT-provided OMR sheets and 60% will be subjective type, which will be answered on answer sheets provided by the schools.GSCERT has also said that a part of the questions in the paper will be to familiarise students with competitive examination-type assessments.“The question papers will be primarily competency-based questions designed to assess conceptual understanding, application and high-order thinking skills. In addition, an appropriate proportion of questions may be included in competitive examination format,” GSCERT has said.The council has said that though it will not provide modified question papers for children with special needs (CwSN) for 2026-27, schools have been told to introduce a number of concessions for these children, including arranging a distraction-free room to answer the exam and frequent breaks during the assessment.Schools have been told to arrange for modified furniture, formatted question paper with large font size and extra time of 30 minutes to accommodate the needs of CwSN.“Head of institutions are requested to identify eligible students in advance and ensure all necessary support is planned and communicated to parents of such children before the commencement of the examinations,” SCERT has said.
