The Chief Executive and Secretary Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has written a letter to all Chief Ministers requesting to allow schools to reopen partially from January onwards, especially for students of class 10 and 12 who will be appearing for board exams.
Gerry Arathoon, Chief Executive of CISCE in a letter said that “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all schools have been closed from March 2020 till date. However, despite the closure, most of our schools have continued with the teaching and learning process in an online, offline or blended manner, as indicated by a survey conducted by CISCE on the status of online teaching, assessment and completion of syllabusâ€.
“For the final run-up to the examinations, CISCE has requested the chief ministers of all state governments and UTs to allow schools to reopen partially, specifically for the students of classes 10and 12 from January 2021,†he said.
“With the students physically attending school, this time will be utilised for practical work, project work, SUPW work, and for doubt clearing lessons. This will be extremely beneficial to the students who will now get the time to interact directly with their teachers†he added.
The council has also written to the Chief Election Commissioner of India to share the poll schedule of the states where elections are due in April and May so the datesheet for board exams can be finalised accordingly.
“This will enable CISCE to finalise the schedules for ICSE-Class 10 and ISC-Class 12 year 2021 examinations and to ensure that there are no clash of dates, interruption of the examinations or any inconvenience that may be faced by the candidates taking these examinations†he added.
Schools across the country were closed in March to contain the spread of COVID-19 and partially reopened in some states from October 15. In Nagpur, the schools in rural and city region will reopen from December 13 for classes 9th to 12th.