The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has asked chief ministers of all the states to allow partial reopening of schools from January 4. In a letter written to CMs of all the states, the CISCE said that students of classes 10 and 12, who will appear in board exams, should be allowed to participate in doubt-clearing sessions, practical works, project works and SUPW or Socially Useful Productive Work. The council, which conducts the ISC and ICSE board exams, has also written to the Chief Election Commissioner of India to share dates of Assembly elections due in April and May so that they can finalise the date sheet for board exams.
“All schools have been closed during the pandemic but most of them continued teaching despite the closure. The blended manner of the offline and online learning process has helped completion of syllabus,” said Gerry Arathoon, Chief Executive of CISCE.
But CISCE has requested the chief ministers of all the states to allow the reopening of schools for the final run-up to the examinations, he said.
Arathoon asserted that the time will be utilised for doubt clearing and practical work as it will be extremely beneficial for the students appearing in board exams. Emphasising on the need of following social distancing norms, Arathoon said that if allowed to reopen, schools will follow all safety guidelines to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Schools across India were closed in March after the outbreak of COVID-19 and were only partially reopened in some states from October 15. However, there are few states that have decided not to allow the reopening of schools in view of a spike in the number of cases. This forced the board to cancel the pending exams.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) too has not made any decision regarding the schedule of board exams next year.