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What is the opposite of 60? 5 bizarre exam questions that went viral

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Ishita Srivastava
Ishita SrivastavaMar 30, 2022 | 18:28

What is the opposite of 60? 5 bizarre exam questions that went viral

A school in Prayagraj asked students to tell the opposite of a tree in their exams. Here are 5 other bizarre exam questions that left students puzzled

Remember those days when you would be sitting in the exam hall, staring at the question paper and wondering if you've ever even seen the question in front of you? The students of Class 5 in a school in Prayagraj experienced the same feeling today. 

During their annual examinations, a Hindi question paper in a state-run school in Prayagraj asked the Class 5 students the opposite of ped (tree). The students were also asked to identify a rectangle from among the given 'figures' in their English question paper. If that wasn't weird enough, there were no figures present there for the students to choose from. 

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Illustration: Seemon, DailyO
Illustration: Seemon, DailyO

Shocked? These weren't the only absurd questions students in UP have found in their papers. An English question paper in Bhadohi asked Class 7 students, also giving their annual exams, to write the opposite of 60.

The Director General of school education, Anamika Singh said in a statement, "Despite Covid and elections, we managed to hold annual examinations after two years. I have directed the UPBEC secretary to examine issues related to questions and take appropriate action on the same."

But the opposite of 60 and being asked to find missing figures isn't the first time students have faced bizarre questions in an exam.

Here are 5 that will leave you completely mind-boggled: 

1. THE SECRET LIVES OF HARYANA MINISTERS

In an exam conducted by Haryana Staff Selection Commission for the posts of sub-inspectors in the Haryana Police, candidates were asked to choose the 'specialty' of Haryana Home Minister, Anil Vij. The options the candidates were given to choose from were: a) Vij is highly educated, b) Vij has been a home minister before, c) Vij is unmarried and d) Vij has served as a police officer. 

If that wasn't enough, candidates were also asked to answer questions on which Haryana BJP MP's father died recently, who is BJP’s Haryana President, or name BJP’s candidate in the Baroda bypoll.

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Along with this, exam-givers were asked to tell the meaning of HSSC chairman Bhopal Singh Khadri’s surname. The options given to candidates to choose from were: a) Is it the name of a caste, community/gotra, b) Khadar area or c) none of the above. The exam was held in September 2021. 

2. MAKE YOUR OWN QUESTIONS

Seems like Indian Institute of Technology Goa took the concept of 'do-it-yourself' very seriously. Back in May 2021, IIT-Goa asked its students in an end-semster exam to frame their own question based on all that they have learnt during the semester, and answer it.

The prompt read, "Prepare the questions of 60 marks from the lecture materials provided to you in the entire semester (Lecture 1 to Lecture 30)."

In an attempt to prevent cheating among students, the prompt also read, "Avoid discussion with your friends; it may reduce your score if similarities are found."

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(tbh, we're totally all for this)

3. ANSWER WHAT WASN'T ASKED

To ensure that no student felt like they weren't asked a question about the topics they actually studied in detail, an exam asked them to write about a topic they had learnt for the exam but wasn’t covered in the test. The question read, "There's something that you spent time studying that wasn't asked on the exam. What is it and how does it work? Explain in detail."

Twitter user Rebekah Rogers posted a photo of the question paper in November 2021. Replies followed. Some felt that this was a great question as it allowed them to show the learning they had on some topics that were not on the test, while others felt that the question was too open-ended and would leave them in a panic. 

4. UPSC BECOMES PHILOSOPHICAL 

In January 2022, UPSC began conducting its Mains Exam. Known to be one of the most difficult exams in the country, the exam had three philosophical questions that needed to be answered as long-form essays.

Section A read, "The real is rational and the rational is real"; while Section B read, "What is research, a blind date with knowledge"; and "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world". 

The question paper was shared by Twitter user Jitin Yadav and it sparked a meme fest. 

One user wrote, "There is a common saying among #UPSC aspirants that After couple of attempts, one will become a philosopher! Guess Essay paper was set by some UPSC veteran for sure."

while another wrote, "When UPSC aspirants are trying to think out of the box, but the box is outside the universe."

One user chimed in and said, "Every UPSC Mains appearing candidate after the Essay paper today"

5. GENDER STEREOTYPING IN CLASS 10 BOARD EXAM

The Class 10 CBSE English Board exam held in December 2021 caused a huge controversy. The question paper had a comprehension passage with sentences that read, "emancipation of the wife destroyed the parent's authority over the children" and "it was only by accepting her husband's way that a mother could gain obedience over the younger ones".

The passage went viral on the internet with people calling CBSE misogynistic and criticising the Board for supporting regressive opinions. Even politicians criticised the curriculum. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi tweeted, "Unbelievable! Are we really teaching children this drivel? Clearly the BJP Government endorses these retrograde views on women, why else would they feature in the CBSE curriculum?"

After the massive criticism, CBSE responded by saying, "The passage in one set of the English paper of CBSE Class 10 first term examination held yesterday has received mixed reactions from a few parents and students stating that 'it seems to support regressive notions on family and allegedly promotes gender stereotyping."

The Board continued, "The matter will be referred to subject experts for considered views as per the pre-set procedures of the board. As regards the correct answer option and the answer key released by the board, it is clarified that if the experts opine that the passage elicits multiple interpretations, appropriate action will be taken to protect the interest of the students."

CBSE then 'dropped' the passage and its accompanying questions. It was decided that students would receive full marks for it. 

Last updated: March 30, 2022 | 18:28
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