Senior board officials had last year proposed introduction of separate pass percentage for the written, oral/practical exams. However, no decision has yet been taken on the same.

Written exams are part of external assessment. They come under the purview of the board and carry 80 marks whereas internal assessment comprising oral and practical exam is done by the respective schools and colleges and carries 20 marks.

At present the pass percentage for each subject is 35%. Shridhar Salunke, divisional chairman, MSBSHSE, (Mumbai) said, “Many students work only for their internal assessment and strive for full marks. They take the written exam lightly because after getting 20 marks they require only 15 marks in the written exam to pass the subject.” Salunke added that with a 35 per cent passing criteria for both internal and external exams, students will be compelled to study equally hard for both the exams.

Students often score well in internal exams as schools tend to mark them liberally to keep their pass percentage high.

Ever since the introduction of internal assessment last year, MSBSHSE has been sending flying squads and field officers to schools to supervise over oral and practical exams.

This year the HSC written exams will be held from February 26 to March 21 and the SSC exams will be held from March 5 to March 23.