Vijayawada: Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh has given the green light for reforms in the Intermediate Board. The announcement was made at the 77th meeting of the board of Intermediate Education held in Amaravati on Tuesday. Lokesh said approval was given for the MBiPC course in junior colleges. The introduction of a single subject for intermediate mathematics and combined botany-zoology and Intermediate exams were scheduled to begin from the last week of February.He said, “Changes have been introduced to the academic calendar for 2025-26, allowing government junior colleges to align with private colleges and attract students. Instead of starting classes on June 1, government colleges will commence them on April 1 from this academic year.”As part of the reforms, the admissions for first-year intermediate students would begin on April 7 instead of June 1.“In the 2025-26 academic year, the annual examinations for first and second-year Intermediate students would take place from the last week of February instead of March. The board has also decided to fully digitize the tabulation registers and digitize the data of Intermediate board results from 1973 to 2003 to facilitate online access through DigiLocker and WhatsApp governance,” Lokesh said.The minister explained that to enhance subject selection for students and promote interdisciplinary studies, the board would introduce elective subjects as a second subject for first-year students starting this academic year. Students can choose one subject from options in the languages, sciences and humanities categories.“In response to public demand, the board has decided to introduce the MBiPC course, which includes Maths and Biology as part of six subjects, from this academic year. Revised textbooks with a new syllabus covering 14 subjects (including Science, Humanities, and Languages) will also be introduced this year. The previously considered two subjects, Maths A and B, will henceforth are merged into a single subject,” Lokesh stated.He stated, “Additionally, for the benefit of BiPC students, Botany and Zoology will be combined into a single subject, ensuring equal weightage for each subject. The Intermediate Board will also prepare comprehensive coaching material for competitive exams like EAPCET, JEE and NEET for students in government colleges. This material will be made available on the board’s portal and provided free of charge to students of government junior colleges.”Lokesh explained, “For competition-based assessments, it has been decided that 10 per cent of the questions in Intermediate Science and Humanities exams will be multiple-choice questions (MCQs), along with fill-in-the-blank questions.” The syllabus will be revised according to NSQF levels, and dual certification will be introduced for vocational students.He said standards have been set to enhance the skill ecosystem. “Plans have been developed for us to cooperate with the National Council of India to improve professional syllabuses according to NSQF levels. The board aims to establish partnerships with industries to revise vocational course syllabuses as per industry needs.”Education secretary Kona Sasidhar, director of collegiate education NB Gupta, director of Intermediate education Kritika Shukla and numerous college principals from across the state were present.
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