The postponement of the Class 12 board exams across CBSE and State Board schools has meant that most private schools in the city have a unique challenge now with two batches of students in Class 12.
While one batch is waiting to take up the board exams, the other set of students are those who have just moved up from Class 11. In such a scenario, many schools have started online classes for the new batch of Class 12 students.
“We will first be taking online classes for the new batch and have given the old batch a break of around 10 to 12 days. When we start revision classes for them, it will be in the form of small capsule sessions and tests so they do not get overwhelmed by preparing over and over again for the exams,” said Lakshmi Prabha, principal, Prasan Vidya Mandir.
As Ms. Prabha said, the focus for most schools has also been on ensuring that students who are to take up their board exams do not get bored or overwhelmed during the time they now have.
“Beginning a revision early might not work well for these students, so we have planned to wait till the new board examination dates are announced to get the students ready for the same. The students are now free to study at their own pace and prepare for entrance exams,” said K. Vasudevan, chairman, Prince Matriculation Higher Secondary School. For the fresh batch of students, Mr. Vasudevan said they would soon commence online classes after a 15-day summer break.
Both the CBSE and State Board have said a decision was expected to be taken about a fresh schedule for the board exams only in June and that students would be given a notice of at least 15 days before the exams begin.
K.R. Maalathi, founder, Auuro Educational Services, said it was important for schools to also take note of the additional pressure that teachers and students were under given how the schedules have extended this academic year.
“While students who are to take the boards might continue to require guidance and revision, schools should also consciously take a decision to give other senior students a break of at least three to four weeks, as a sort of digital detox,” she said. Keeping their teachers in mind, Ms. Prabha said they drew up their schedule for both batches of Class 12 in such a way that the teachers too would work in batches and be able to take a break in-between.
