– Mita Mukherjee

The ICSE and ISC examinations are likely to be delayed next year but both exams will be held for sure and the dates will be finalised after assessing the Covid-19 situation, according to Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE).

Gerry Arathoon CISCE secretary and chief executive said it was his “personal” opinion that it would not be possible to conduct the two tests in February-March, the time they were usually held till this year.

The CISCE has not taken any decision on the dates till now, he said.

 “It is my assumption that the exams can’t be held in February. Covid-19 cases are rising in a number of states where we have good number of schools. It will be difficult to conduct the exams even in April if the trend continues. In that case the exams will have to be held later. We will have to wait and see the situation. The dates can be finalised after the number of Covid cases start decreasing. This is my personal opinion. The council has not yet taken any decision as yet on when the ICSE and ISC examination can be held next year,” Gerry Arathoon told EducationWorld.

He said the schools have remained closed since March and they need adequate time to get ready for conducting the exams. Along with the readiness of the schools, other important factors like the willingness of guardians will also have to be taken into account before finalizing the examination dates.

“The board exams will have to be conducted. Schools were kept closed throughout the entire academic year. The schools need  sufficient time to get ready with the facilities needed to conduct the examinations,” Gerry Arathoon said.

The exams can be held if guardians were willing to take the risk of sending their wards to the campuses to write the exams. 

The Assembly elections are slated in West Bengal and some other states next year. The election dates will also have to be taken into consideration for conducting the examinations.

The CISCE has more than 2500 affiliated schools in India with around 430 in West Bengal.

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