HSC Stands for Higher Secondary School Certificate, and it is a public exam held in India. The exam is also popularly known as the 12th board exam. There are two ways to appear in the HSC Exam. One way is to appear in the exam via the state board, and the second way is to appear via the central board known as CBSE. There are many other boards that conducted the HSC exam in India, but CBSE and the relevant state board remains to be the most popular options. If you in the 11th or 12th, then you will soon be appearing for the HSC Exam. In this article, we have listed all the possible information about the HSC exam so that you get to understand the system and other details associated with HSC Exam.
What is HSC Exam in India?
As mentioned earlier, the HSC exam is also the 12th exam. You have to appear in this central exam which is hosted by the state or the national board. It is mandatory to appear in these exams to clear the class 12th in India. After the 10th board exam, you have to choose a stream in 11th. The options available to you are humanities, commerce and science. Once you make a choice, you learn those subjects in 11th and 12th. Post that, you have to appear in these exams. The school does not design the HSC Exam, but it is designed at a central level. The students are assigned a centre, and they need to visit the designated centre to appear in the exam.
Some of the subjects have practical exams as well, which are conducted on the school premises only. Once you appear in all the exams, the papers are evaluated by the same board, and then the result is published in May or June. The admissions in the colleges and universities are offered based on the HSC Result, and hence it remains one of the most important milestones in one’s career.
Eligibility Criteria for HSC Exam
In this section, we will talk about the basic eligibility criteria associated with the HSC Exam.
- You should have completed the 10th standard from a recognized board to appear in the 12th board exams.
- You should have address proof and ID proof.
- If you appear for the board exams with a disability or under any category, you need to submit the certificate for the same.
- Some of the boards may have a minimum age limit for the HSC exam, and you can check the same on the respective boards’ website.
HSC Exam Syllabus & Pattern
The next important part about the HSC exams is the syllabus and the pattern of the exam. Finally, we will brief you on the high-level points since they can differ from one board to another.
- The student has to select a minimum of 5 subjects in HSC. Some of the students also have an option to select the 6th additional subject.
- Each subject has 100 marks weightage; however, some of the exams have only theory paper and + some subjects have theory + practical exam (70 + 30). Therefore, you must pass in both practical and theory.
- The pass percentage for exams is 33% in individual and overall subjects.
- The list of the subject available is vast, and it also varies from one board to another. Therefore, it is advisable to check with the school and with the board about the subjects that you can select in the exam.
- The pattern also differs according to the board and the subject as well. But, again, you can get the exact information on the board’s website.
Attempt for HSC Exam
There is no limit to the attempts that you can give for HSC Exam. It should be also be noted that if you fail any particular exam during a year, then you get a chance to appear in a re-exam for that subject. Each board has specific criteria for the re-exam. For example, if you fail in 3 subjects in HSC Exam, you may have to repeat the whole year.
HSC Exam Dates for 2021
Every year, the HSC exam is hosted in March – April, and the results are published by May-June. This had been a consistent timeline until 2020. Unfortunately, some of the exams in 2020 were cancelled because of the covid-19. Unfortunately, the situation continues in 2021 as well and owing to the safety of the students, most of the boards have cancelled the HSC Exams for 2021.
Now, you might be thinking about what the implications of this cancellation are. The board has come up with new criteria to evaluate the marks, and we will brief you about it. The central board has decided to mark the students on a 30:30:40 formula. This means that 30% of the weightage will be for the marks that the student score in class 10th. 30% of the weightage would be for the marks that the student score in class 11th. Finally, the remain 40% will be calculated based on the marks scored in class 12th pre-boards. This will form a cumulative score, and the cumulative score itself is the final score of the student in HSC Exam 2021.
You should note that the formula may be different for different state boards. In addition to this, some of the state boards in 2021 may still conduct board exam. Therefore, it is better to refer to the state boards website to get the correct information.
Fee for HSC Exam?
The fee of the HSC Exam differs from one board to another. In such a case, there is no fixed amount that we can tell you at the moment. Instead, you can refer to the relevant board website to get information on the fee. Apart from this, you are notified of the fee by the school itself. Usually, the school becomes the collection point for that fee since the registration also happens at the school.
The Registration Process of HSC Exam
There is nothing much that you can do to register for the HSC Exam. It is the responsibility of the school to register you for the exam. However, we will still try and wrap up the process for you. Check out the points below.
- The process starts soon after you clear the class 10th and you need to choose the subjects as well.
- After clearing the class 11th, the school will start the registration process for you.
- As a part of the registration process, the school will fill the form for you, and you will be asked to verify all the details. You will also have to provide the photograph for the registration.
- You will be asked to verify the details at multiple levels, and you should diligently check the information on the form.
- A few months before the exam, you will receive your admit card, and it is delivered to you via the school itself. The admit card would have the list of subjects that you would appear for, and it would also have the date of the exam.
- Ensure that you validate the information on the admit card. Apart from this, it is also important for you to keep the admit card safely. Many of the students often get the admit card laminated.
- This is the complete registration process for the HSC Exam. If you have any question, you can reach out to your school, and they will be able to share the required information for you.
Rahul Kumar is a passionate educator, writer, and subject matter expert in the field of education and professional development. As an author on CoursesXpert, Rahul Kumar’s articles cover a wide range of topics, from various courses, educational and career guidance.
