The announcement in this regard was made by the school and mass education minister R N Nanda. He said the examination would continue till March 8.
Stating that the state government has decided to introduce grade system in the examination this time instead of the prevailing division system of declaring results, Nanda said officials have been asked to ensure free and smooth conduct of examination.
The Board of Secondary Education (BSE), which conducts the annual matriculation examination, said answer sheets of students will be evaluated on nine point grades like A (91-100 per cent), B (81-90 per cent), C (71-80 per cent), D (61-70 per cent), E (51-60 per cent), F (41-50 per cent), G (31-40 per cent), H (21-30 per cent) and I (11-20 per cent).
While 50 per cent of the questions would comprise of multiple-choice questions, the remaining part would be subjective requiring long answers, they added.