-Mita Mukherjee

The 2021 ICSE and ISC examinations will start on May 5, a circular issued by the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) on Monday said.

The results of the two examinations will be declared in July, Gerry Arathoon, CISCE secretary and chief executive said in the circular.

The ICSE examination will start with English-Paper-I (English Language) and continue till June 7. The ISC will start with business studies and end on June 16.

In ICSE the last test will be on the Group-III elective paper and the ISC examinations will conclude with the test in psychology.

The announcement brought relief to nearly three lakh students studying in around 2,500 CISCE affiliated schools across the country who were anxiously waiting to know the date of commencement and the complete timetables of the two exams.

The ICSE and ISC examinations are usually held in February-March in normal situation but they were delayed this time because of the Covid-19 pandemic and also for the Assembly elections that are to be held between March and April in five states, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.

Addressing the annual conference of the Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools in India, CISCE chief Arathoon had said last week that the dates and schedules for the ICSE and ISC examinations would be announced as soon as the Election Commission of India declared the dates for conducting the polls in the five states. The Election Commission announced the poll schedule on February 26.

The CISCE circular today contained detailed Covid-19 safety instructions for students and every school has been asked to ensure that the instructions were strictly followed by all the candidates.

The students will have to reach the examination centre well ahead of time to ensure staggered movement and avoid overcrowding.

They will have to be seated in the examination hall five minutes before the time fixed for the start of the examinations.

 Every student must ensure that they wear a mask, carry sanitizer and avoid touching their face with hands. The use of gloves is optional.

They should follow “respiratory etiquette while coughing or sneezing”, the instructions said. “ This involves the practice of covering one’s mouth or nose while coughing or sneezing.” They will have to bring their own stationery and water bottles and won’t be allowed to share food and water with others.

As announced earlier, the ISC Class XII practical examinations will have to be scheduled between April 1 and May 31 and the practical questions will have to be set by visiting examiners in consultation with the principals of the individual schools, Arathoon told EducationWorld after issuing the circular.

The council will send sample questions and guidelines to the schools on the basis of which the practical questions will have to be set. The dates for conducting the practical examinations will also have to be fixed by the individual schools in consultation with the visiting examiners this time.

However, in the circular issued today, the CISCE has said that the  planning session in ISC computer science, home science and Indian music Carnatic practical will have to be be April 8 and April 9 respectively.

Read the ICSE 2021 TIMETABLE here

Read the ISC 2021 TIMETABLE here

Also read: No change in start of academic session in ICSE schools: CISCE