New criteria to pass Class IX: Clear 8 of 10 subjects; uniform question papers for Goa board’s Classes VI-VIII

PANAJI: Common and uniform question papers will be set by the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) for students from Classes VI to VIII in schools across Goa from academic year 2025-26 as part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 implementation, SCERT director Meghana Shetgaonkar said on Saturday.
She said that paper corrections, however, will be carried out by the teachers from the respective schools.
The exams will be held simultaneously in all schools due to the common question paper.
Already, as part of NEP implementation, common papers are set for students of Class IX by the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. Board chairperson Bhagirath Shetye said that many changes will be introduced in Class IX too from the new academic year, including passing criteria like a student has to clear any eight of the ten subjects.

He said, besides the six original subjects, four new subjects, which are school assessment subjects, have already been introduced last year in Class IX — art education, physical education, vocational education and interdisciplinary studies. Now, from the new academic session, Shetye said passing criteria will allow a student to clear Class IX, if a student has cleared any eight of the ten subjects.
The board chairperson said that this new compensation scheme replaces the old scheme of grace and condonation marks.
“Of the six original subjects, if a Class IX student does not clear any two, but scores minimum 65% in two of the school assessment subjects and at least 50% in the other two of school assessment subjects, the student will be considered to have cleared Class IX. No student will be detained in Class IX in any case. All will be promoted to Class X, provided they meet attendance criteria. These students will have to answer supplementary exams to clear their pending subjects,” said Shetye.
He said the students will get two years to clear the Class IX supplementary tests. The chairman said Class X results of such students will not be declared until they clear Class IX supplementary.
Additionally, for Class IX, history and geography subjects have been merged as a single subject of social science, Shetye said.