BIE AP Proposed Reforms in Intermediate Education from 2025-26. Proposed Academic Reforms by Board of Intermediate Education.
As per the feedback and requests received from stakeholders, parents , students and academicians,the following academic reforms pertaining to Intermediate Education are being proposed by BIE, AP:
I. REVISION OF SYLLABUS &TEXT BOOKS:
As per NCF, 2023:"A syllabus should provide just enough content for a student to achieve the required learning outcomes, without overwhelming them. It must strike a balance between breadth and depth, enabling students to understand and engage with the material meaningfully, rather than simply memorizing information."
To ensure alignment with the syllabus being followed for Competitive Examinations (JEE, NEET).
More than 15 states have adopted NCERT Books for their Intermediate Curriculum.
Proposed Syllabus Revision Plan:
A Subject Committee for each of the 14 subjects was constituted on 1st October 2024, comprising University Professors, Degree College Lecturers, and Junior Lecturers. As per the subject Committee report, following changes are proposed:
Science(Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology):
- 1st Year: Revised textbooks as per NCERT from AY 2025-26.
- 2nd Year: Reduced the syllabus for AY 2025-26 as per NCERT Syllabus; full NCERT-based revision by AY 2026-27.
● Arts &Humanities(Civics, Economics, History, Commerce):
- 1st Year: Revised textbooks as per BIE syllabus from AY 2025-26.
- 2nd Year: No changes for AY 2025-26; Revised textbooks by AY 2026- 27.
● Languages (English, Telugu, Hindi Sanskrit, Urdu):
- 1st Year: New textbooks from AY 2025-26.
- 2nd Year: No changes for AY 2025-26; revised textbooks by AY 2026- 27.
Subject wise revised syllabus is being uploaded on BIE portal (bie.ap.gov.in) inviting suggestions from public, students, parents and academicians.
Need for Reform:
● BIE is right now offering 2 languages and 4 core subjects for Science stream(Total: 6 subjects) and 3 core subjects for Humanities stream (Total: 5 subjects) which is not being accepted by few Universities as they are insisting for single language and 4 core subjects (Total of 5)
● There is demand for MBiPc course.
● There is demand from Humanities students to give them more options in terms of combinations which can be adopted.
Proposal for new Subject Combinations:
- Science Combinations: MPC, BiPC
- Humanities combinations : CEC, HEC, MEC etc. (26 combinations)
● 6th Subject: Optional Additional subject (Can choose language or core subject, 25 options are available, list will be uploaded on BIE Portal, bie.ap.gov.in). If a student has taken 6th subject, and if he/she fails in any one of first five subjects, the same will be replaced by the 6th subject provided the candidate satisfies the scheme of studies i.e., after replacement English should remain as one of the main five subjects.
Need for Reform:
● As per the CBSE marking pattern, the marking pattern for the Board exams is proposed to be revised to ensure a balanced distribution of marks between theory and internal/practical assessments.
● This will help in developing critical thinking and research ability in the students.
● The proposal is in line with the NEP 2020 guidelines, which advocates for assessment of higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, critical thinking, and problem-solving, alongside descriptive elements for a deeper understanding,
Proposed Change in Examination Marks Pattern:
● For languages and for core subjects in the Humanities stream, such as Civics, Commerce, History, and Economics, the division will be 80 marks for theory and 20 marks for internal assessments (Project Work/Research Activity) .
● In total, each stream will have 500 marks: the Humanities group will be allocated 400 marks for theory and 100 marks for internal assessments. MPC group will have 380 marks for theory and 120 marks for internal/practical assessments and BiPC group will have 370 marks for theory and 130 marks for internal/practical assessments. Details shown below:
Further, it is proposed to introduce 1-mark questions in the form of multiple- choice questions (MCQs), fill-in-the-blanks, and one-word answers in the Board examination. The weightage of Essay type questions will also be reduced from 8 Marks to 5/6 Marks.
To align with the goal of reducing exam stress on students, it is proposed to remove Inter 1st Year Board Examination and to conduct only Inter 2nd Year Board Examination.
Need for Reform:
● Except Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, no other prominent State is conducting Board exams for Inter 1st year.
● Most of the Colleges/Universities consider only Inter 2nd Year Board exams as qualifying criteria for admissions. Inter 1st year exams results are not taken into consideration.
● This will alleviate the pressure of board exams on students enabling students to concentrate on building a strong conceptual foundation in Inter 1st year which are crucial for the advanced topics in the 2nd year.
● The proposal will enhance students' performance and readiness for competitive exams like JEE, NEET, and others.
● To achieve equivalence with other boards , including CBSE and other State Boards, which do not have board exams for the Inter 1st year.
Proposed Reform:
Inter 1st year exam will be conducted internally by the Junior Colleges based on the syllabus and Blueprint given by the BIE.
Inter 2nd Year Board Examinations will be conducted by BIE based on Inter 2nd year syllabus.
As per the feedback and requests received from stakeholders, parents , students and academicians,the following academic reforms pertaining to Intermediate Education are being proposed by BIE, AP:
I. REVISION OF SYLLABUS &TEXT BOOKS:
As per NCF, 2023:"A syllabus should provide just enough content for a student to achieve the required learning outcomes, without overwhelming them. It must strike a balance between breadth and depth, enabling students to understand and engage with the material meaningfully, rather than simply memorizing information."
Need for Reform:
The current syllabus for the two-year Intermediate courses has not undergone a revision over the past several years, with updates last made as follows:- - Sciences: First year in 2012-13; Second year in 2013-14
- - Arts Subjects: First year in 2014-15; Second year in 2015-16
- - Languages: First year in 2018-19; Second year in 2019-20
To ensure alignment with the syllabus being followed for Competitive Examinations (JEE, NEET).
More than 15 states have adopted NCERT Books for their Intermediate Curriculum.
Proposed Syllabus Revision Plan:
A Subject Committee for each of the 14 subjects was constituted on 1st October 2024, comprising University Professors, Degree College Lecturers, and Junior Lecturers. As per the subject Committee report, following changes are proposed:
Science(Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology):
- 1st Year: Revised textbooks as per NCERT from AY 2025-26.
- 2nd Year: Reduced the syllabus for AY 2025-26 as per NCERT Syllabus; full NCERT-based revision by AY 2026-27.
● Arts &Humanities(Civics, Economics, History, Commerce):
- 1st Year: Revised textbooks as per BIE syllabus from AY 2025-26.
- 2nd Year: No changes for AY 2025-26; Revised textbooks by AY 2026- 27.
● Languages (English, Telugu, Hindi Sanskrit, Urdu):
- 1st Year: New textbooks from AY 2025-26.
- 2nd Year: No changes for AY 2025-26; revised textbooks by AY 2026- 27.
Subject wise revised syllabus is being uploaded on BIE portal (bie.ap.gov.in) inviting suggestions from public, students, parents and academicians.
II. PROPOSAL FOR NEW SUBJECT COMBINATIONS:
It is proposed to make 2nd language subject as Elective and introduce additional subject to provide more options to the students.Need for Reform:
● BIE is right now offering 2 languages and 4 core subjects for Science stream(Total: 6 subjects) and 3 core subjects for Humanities stream (Total: 5 subjects) which is not being accepted by few Universities as they are insisting for single language and 4 core subjects (Total of 5)
● There is demand for MBiPc course.
● There is demand from Humanities students to give them more options in terms of combinations which can be adopted.
Proposal for new Subject Combinations:
- ● 1st subject: English will be a compulsory subject
- ● 2nd subject: Elective (Can choose language or core subject, 25 options are available, list will be uploaded on BIE Portal, bie.ap.gov.in)
- ● 3rd, 4th and 5th Subject: Core Subjects: Science/Humanities
- Science Combinations: MPC, BiPC
- Humanities combinations : CEC, HEC, MEC etc. (26 combinations)
● 6th Subject: Optional Additional subject (Can choose language or core subject, 25 options are available, list will be uploaded on BIE Portal, bie.ap.gov.in). If a student has taken 6th subject, and if he/she fails in any one of first five subjects, the same will be replaced by the 6th subject provided the candidate satisfies the scheme of studies i.e., after replacement English should remain as one of the main five subjects.
III. CHANGES IN EXAMINATION MARKS PATTERN:
It is proposed to realign the subject wise total marks and weightage between theory exams and internal/practical exams as per the CBSE pattern.Need for Reform:
● As per the CBSE marking pattern, the marking pattern for the Board exams is proposed to be revised to ensure a balanced distribution of marks between theory and internal/practical assessments.
● This will help in developing critical thinking and research ability in the students.
● The proposal is in line with the NEP 2020 guidelines, which advocates for assessment of higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, critical thinking, and problem-solving, alongside descriptive elements for a deeper understanding,
Proposed Change in Examination Marks Pattern:
● For languages and for core subjects in the Humanities stream, such as Civics, Commerce, History, and Economics, the division will be 80 marks for theory and 20 marks for internal assessments (Project Work/Research Activity) .
● In total, each stream will have 500 marks: the Humanities group will be allocated 400 marks for theory and 100 marks for internal assessments. MPC group will have 380 marks for theory and 120 marks for internal/practical assessments and BiPC group will have 370 marks for theory and 130 marks for internal/practical assessments. Details shown below:
Subjects |
Board Exam |
||||||
MPC |
BiPC |
Subjects |
Humanities |
||||
Theory |
Internal/ Practical |
Theory |
Internal/ Practical |
Theory |
Internal/ Practical |
||
| English | 80 |
20 |
80 |
20 |
English | 80 |
20 |
| Elective Subject | 80 |
20 |
80 |
20 |
Elective Subject | 80/70 |
20/30 |
| Maths/Biology | 80 |
20 |
70 |
30 |
Core Sub.1 | 80 |
20 |
| Physics | 70 |
30 |
70 |
30 |
Core Sub. 2 |
80 |
20 |
| Chemistry | 70 |
30 |
70 |
30 |
Core Sub.3 | 80 |
20 |
| Additional Subjects (Optional) | - |
- |
- |
- |
Additional Subjects ( Optional) |
- |
- |
| Total (500) | 380 |
120 |
370 |
130 |
Total (500) |
400 |
100 |
Further, it is proposed to introduce 1-mark questions in the form of multiple- choice questions (MCQs), fill-in-the-blanks, and one-word answers in the Board examination. The weightage of Essay type questions will also be reduced from 8 Marks to 5/6 Marks.
IV. PROPOSAL FOR THE REMOVAL OF INTER 1ST YEAR BOARD EXAMINATIONS:
Need for Reform:
● Except Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, no other prominent State is conducting Board exams for Inter 1st year.
● Most of the Colleges/Universities consider only Inter 2nd Year Board exams as qualifying criteria for admissions. Inter 1st year exams results are not taken into consideration.
● This will alleviate the pressure of board exams on students enabling students to concentrate on building a strong conceptual foundation in Inter 1st year which are crucial for the advanced topics in the 2nd year.
● The proposal will enhance students' performance and readiness for competitive exams like JEE, NEET, and others.
● To achieve equivalence with other boards , including CBSE and other State Boards, which do not have board exams for the Inter 1st year.
Proposed Reform:
Inter 1st year exam will be conducted internally by the Junior Colleges based on the syllabus and Blueprint given by the BIE.
Inter 2nd Year Board Examinations will be conducted by BIE based on Inter 2nd year syllabus.
