ICSE schools consider deferring pre-board exams

Move comes following the Council's hint on postponing the board exams to end-May or June

In many schools, the pre-boards are held over December and January, and in most they are over by the third week of January : File picture

Jhinuk Mazumdar   |   TT   |   Calcutta   |    28.11.20   :  Several ICSE schools in the city are planning to defer their pre-board exams for Classes X and XII following a hint from the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) that the board exams could be deferred to end-May or June.

The ICSE (Class X) and ISC exams (Class XII) usually begin in February.

In many schools, the pre-boards are held over December and January, and in most they are over by the third week of January.

The ICSE and ISC board exams are not likely to take place “before the end of May or in June”, the chief executive and secretary of the CISCE, Gerry Arathoon, said.

St James’ School will have its pre-board exams after January 15. Usually, they start in December and are over by the third week of January.

“There is a possibility of the board exams being postponed and hence we have also decided to defer the pre-boards. We are yet to announce the dates,” said Terence Ireland, the principal of St James’ School.

Calcutta Girls’ High School is “contemplating” to push the pre-boards to February. They are usually held in January. St Xavier’s Collegiate School is planning to hold its pre-board exams towards the end of January or in the first week of February.

“We are contemplating pushing the pre-board exams to February if the board exam is postponed,” said Basanti Biswas, the principal of Calcutta Girls’ High School

“It will give students more time. This is an unusual year because of online classes. Also, teachers will have more time to gauge and understand how much the children have followed. If the situation improves and the students are allowed to come to school, they will be able to perform the practicals before the exam,” said Biswas.

The practicals, she said, are important not just for the board exams but also for gaining knowledge even after Class XII.

Arathoon had said that the council as well as the schools would want students to go to the campuses for the practical classes and exams.

“Students need time to prepare for the exams and the pre-boards are important exams for the students to prepare themselves for the finals. Teachers will have time to discuss with the students their weak areas,” said Father M. Thamacin Arulappan, the principal at St Xavier’s Collegiate School.

Usually, there is a gap of four to six weeks between the pre-boards and the board exams.

Modern High School for Girls have not yet decided on the dates but said they would give “adequate preparation time” to the students between the pre-boards and the board exams.

The school normally announces the dates of the pre-board exams after the timetable for the board exams is published.

“We will give adequate preparation time to the students between the pre-boards and the boards like every year. We will also protect the dates of some of the competitive exams, like that of engineering, in the interest of

the students who would want to appear for those,” said Damayanti Mukherjee, the principal of the school.

Some of the schools like Loreto House and Sri Sri Academy, who have their pre-boards scheduled for January, said they would wait for an official communication from the council.

“We scheduled the exams for January hoping the students might be able to come back to the campus. Now, with the recent development of the possibility of the board exams being deferred, we might defer the pre-boards, too. We are waiting to hear from the council and would also have a meeting with the teacher coordinators,” said Aruna Gomes, the principal of Loreto House.

Ram Mohan Mission High School, too, is waiting for a communication from the council. “We plan to hold the pre-boards in the end of January or the beginning of February, instead of finishing off all the papers by the second week of January that we do in other years,” principal Sujoy Biswas said.

The postponement might help schools conduct on-campus exams, instead of online ones, if the situation improves, a school head said.

“We would prefer them to come to school if the situation permits. Students then can sit through a three-hour paper and be prepared for a board exam,” said Suvina Shunglu, the principal of Sri Sri Academy.