Noida: CBSE’s Class X board exams began on Tuesday with mathematics as the first paper, an unusual start that many students said added pressure. Many students exited centres appearing anxious, describing the paper as lengthy and conceptually demanding.According to students, the MCQ section was manageable but the long-answer-type questions proved confusing and time-consuming. Sections D and E, particularly the 5-mark questions, posed difficulties, a student said.“The case study based on Parabola was especially tricky and demanded careful interpretation and application of concepts, which added to the difficulty level. Due to the complexity of the long-answer questions and the overall length of the paper, time management became a significant challenge. Overall, the paper was perceived as tough, lengthy, and conceptually demanding, particularly in the higher-mark sections and the case study component,” a student at Apeejay School, Noida told TOI.Another student from a private school in Sector 168 said, “The basic portion of the question paper was moderately easy, but the MCQ and analytical portion was comparatively tougher. I thought of writing a better maths paper, but I do not think I can score more than 80 this time. However, maths being the first exam, it was a bit challenging for most of us.”Some teachers criticised the CBSE’s decision to begin the exams with Mathematics, calling it unnecessarily stressful for students.“Boards for Class X students is anyway a first milestone in students’ life. Generally, the exam starts with English or SST, and slowly, as students get habituated to the exam environment, more serious papers like maths, physics, or other subjects are introduced. Maths as the first paper might not be a wise decision for many students,” said Manoj Kataria, a mathematics teacher at a school in Sector 134.Ashu Gupta, a teacher at Apeejay School, in contrast, said that the paper was well-structured and student-friendly, with no out-of-syllabus questions. “The paper is moderate, with a mix of straightforward and application-based questions. Some questions required conceptual clarity and analytical thinking. Multiple-choice questions are not very tough. Case study-based questions tested students’ understanding of concepts in real-life contexts. These competency-based questions required students to apply concepts rather than rely on memorisation. In the end, the paper caters to students of all levels.”Some teachers and principals were also of the opinion that maths, being a difficult subject for many students, creates unnecessary stress for students when kept in the later part of the schedule. “In recent years, CBSE started an exam with maths for the first time. It is a good decision in a way that students can now be stress free and focus on other subjects better,” said Aditi Basu Roy, principal at Grads International School.
