Two-year limit introduced for II PU exam improvement attempts

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Education Department has introduced a new rule limiting the time period for students to reappear for the II Pre-University (PU) examination in order to improve their results or clear failed subjects. Under the new regulation, candidates will now get only two years to attempt the examination after their initial registration.

According to the order issued by the department, students will be allowed to write improvement or repeat examinations only in the year they first registered for the exam and the following academic year. Within this period, candidates can attempt the examination a maximum of six times, considering the three annual exam opportunities provided each year.

The rule will come into effect from the current academic year and will apply to regular, private, and repeat candidates. Officials clarified that students must complete all attempts for result improvement within the two-year period. Once the time limit expires, they will not be given any additional opportunities to reappear for the exam.

The state government had earlier introduced a system of three annual examinations for SSLC and II PU students starting from the academic year 2024-25. While students had multiple chances to improve their scores under the previous system, there was no clear rule specifying how long they could continue appearing for improvement exams.

Under the earlier system, candidates who failed or wished to improve their marks could write the examination up to six times without any specific time restriction. Some candidates, even decades after completing their schooling, were attempting improvement examinations.

However, the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board proposed the two-year limit to streamline administrative processes. Officials said that every year colleges had to upload detailed records of all candidates and subjects from previous years during the registration process, which often caused technical difficulties due to the large volume of data.

Additionally, the board had to repeatedly print and distribute new marks cards whenever candidates cleared improvement exams, while also collecting the old marks cards. This administrative burden prompted the board to recommend a time restriction.

Board chairman Prakash Nittali said the new rule will ensure better management of examination data and align the system with frequent curriculum updates.