THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The decision of the Council for The Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) to cancel the ICSE (Class X) Board exam altogether has come as a relief for hundreds of students and parents in the state at a time when Covid cases are at an all-time high.
However, concerns still remain on the procedure to be followed for assessing Class X students for the award of ICSE certificate.
While around 8,000 students appear for the ISCE exam every year from the state, the number of students attempting the ISC (Class XII) exam from Kerala is a little over 2,000.
There are around 165 schools under the Association of Schools for Indian School Certificate (ASISC), Kerala Region.
According to a press note from the Council, the decision to cancel the Class X examination was taken in view of the "worsening situation of Covid-19 pandemic in the country".
Even though the Council had given the option for Class X students to sit in an offline examination along with Class XII, it was later scrapped.
For the conduct of the ISC exam, the Council had earlier announced that it will assess the situation in the first week of June and take a decision accordingly.
"The Council has assured that it will soon come out with a fair and unbiased criterion for assessing the students for ICSE examination. So there is no need for parents to be anxioius," said Fr James Mullassery, Secretary, ASISC, Kerala Region.
Of the 165 member schools of ASISC, a little over half have ISC (Plus Two) section.
Around 50% of the students who clear the ICSE examination from the state either join the state Higher Secondary course or opt for CBSE.
The Council has directed all affiliated schools having ISC section to begin the admission process for Class XI and to evolve a schedule for online classes at the earliest.
"We had expressed the concern about students not being able to jon other Boards in case the results are delayed. The Council has assured that there will not be any delay in declaration of results," said Fr James.
The CBSE too had cancelled the Class X examinations and announced an 'objective criteria' for assessing the students.
However, CBSE has given students the option of appearing for the Board examination when the situation improves, in case they are not satisfied with the marks awarded through the objective criteria.