The schedule for the classes X and XII board examinations for both the State board and CBSE is out.
Amid unrealistic expectations, students have their noses deep in books, and schools are scrambling to give as many revisions as possible.
While the State board examination for class X will be conducted between March 27 and April 12 with the first paper being Language I, the higher secondary examination will span out between March 1 and March 27.
CBSE examination for class X will be conducted between March 2 and March 15, and for class XII between March 1 and April 9, according to the schedule on the CBSE website. The CBSE has asked schools to conduct the school-based examination for class X between 16 March and 31 March.
The CBSE allows class X students to choose between the final written examinations conducted by the board and the schools. While question papers for both are provided by CBSE, corrections are carried out by the school for the school-based examination.
While students and teachers are happy with the timing of the examination and papers, the race up to the examination will be gruelling for both teachers and students.
Sequeira Sheila, who handles economics for class XII, said though she was able to complete her portions on time, teachers sometimes have to meet unrealistic deadlines. “It is not always possible to conduct education in a meaningful way. With emphasis on revision, teaching time in many schools is considerably cut down,” she said. Teachers spoke of facing great pressure to deliver 100 per cent results, and students of attending several special classes other than tuitions.
M. Pradeish, a class XII State board student said that his school had finished portions as early as in September, and have only been revising since then. “I go for tuitions for all my subjects because, in school, they are only concerned about finishing the portions. I understand the concepts only through my tuitions classes,” said the MBBS aspirant.
However, students said that the school education department’s move to provide common question papers for quarterly and half-yearly examinations this year was a stress-buster. S. Meghna, a class X student, said, “We got an idea of the difficulty level, and the nature of questions that would appear.”
For CBSE students like S. Poorvaja, who will be taking the class X board examination, CCE has considerably reduced the stress. However, with CBSE asking schools to conduct the school-based examination starting March 16, students opting for it will have additional time to prepare.
Jashoda Sundar, who handles English for classes IX to XII in a CBSE school, said that though they aimed to finish the portions by January, conducting CCE activities is time-consuming.
The schedule for the practical examinations for State board students is awaited. “We will be announcing them shortly, but it will definitely be held prior to the written examinations,” said an official from the directorate of government examinations.
