BENGALURU: The Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has written to the chief ministers of all states to allow them to reopen schools, especially for Classes 10 and 12, from January 4. It has assured the government that it will follow all Covid directives and the Standard Operating Procedures of the health department to avoid the spread of the virus.This comes even after the state government, in a series of decisions, announced that schools cannot be reopened till December.
CISCE says this is for a run-up to the examinations, especially for the board exam students. The exams are likely to be conducted only offline, as per sources. Anytime beyond the regular schedule of March is also likely to add up to the anxiety of Class 10 students with PUC admissions round the corner, they say.
Students have been attending classes online and also virtual laboratories for practical examinations.
This will be the first time after March that students would also get to interact with their teachers directly, and not online. It recently conducted an online survey of schools affiliated to the board, on their status of online teaching and completion of syllabus.Students are mentally prepared for a board examination in March, Dr Gayatri Devi, former secretary, Karnataka State ICSE Schools’ Association, told TNIE. She said a departure from that would only cause them distress. “And if the examinations take place in March, it could spill over to the next month too,” she added.
The board is looking for potential examination dates. For a smooth conduct of the exams, they have also sought the dates of the elections in various states in April and May 2021.