City schools welcome CBSE schedule for exams

Schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) across the city have welcomed the board exam schedule for classes 10 and 12 that was announced

Schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) across the city have welcomed the board exam schedule for classes 10 and 12 that was announced on Thursday. Most schools said that the schedule will allow them to hold practical sessions for students and they will also get sufficient time to prepare for the exams.

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Schools have been holding online classes since last March, when they were closed amid the coronavirus disease.

Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Thursday announced that CBSE class 10 and 12 board exams will be conducted between May 4, 2021, and June 10, 2021. The practical examinations will begin on March 1 and the results will be announced by July 15, 2021.

Routinely, CBSE board examinations are conducted between February and March every year. However, this year, due to the closure of schools in view of the pandemic, the examination schedule has been delayed. Schools across the country were closed last March and classes are being held remotely to contain the spread of Covid-19.

While schools in Haryana reopened for physical classroom sessions in October, some states are yet to restart schools for in-person sessions.

Ramanjit Khinda, school headmistress, Kunskapsskolan International, said that while the school had been preparing students keeping in view the routine exam schedule, it was more comfortably placed now. “We were not lagging behind earlier either. However, practical sessions were a concern. Now, we think we will be getting enough time to take things forward comfortably with the students,” said Khinda.

She added that the school is currently amid a winter break and decisions pertaining to the practical sessions would be taken before the school reopens. “We are on a break right now. We will discuss and take decisions in view of the board schedule that has been announced. We will be thinking about giving some practical hands-on learning to students even though we have been conducting virtual sessions till now,” she said.

Nidhi Kapoor, the principal of Euro International School, said that the board had given sufficient time and children were happy with the examination schedule. “Students are happy since there is clarity on the schedule now and they will get a bit more time to prepare. We will also be starting physical classroom sessions for board classes from January 15, thrice a week, so that they are able to clarify doubts and get writing practice,” said Kapoor. She said that students who were lagging behind would get additional support through these classes.

Aditi Misra, principal, Delhi Public School, Sector 45, said that the school had not conducted pre-board exams so far and would be able to plan the same now that a timeline for the board exams has been announced. “We were waiting for the board to declare the timeline for the exams. We will be able to plan our pre-board exams while taking cognisance of the timeline. Until now, we were only having tests,” said Misra.

Yash Handa, a class 12 student at KR Mangalam World School, South City-1, said that while some students are apprehensive over holding exams in a pandemic year, most were happy with the schedule since they would get sufficient time to prepare.

“Some students are happy because the schedule gives plenty of time to prepare for exams. Others are worried that the exams might get delayed again due to a new wave of Covid-19. Largely, we are satisfied since there is sufficient time to prepare. However, since exams are happening late, we might have issues applying to colleges since entrances start early,” said Handa.