ICSE council seeks permission for partial reopening of schools for class X & XII

-Mita Mukherjee

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) on Thursday requested the chief ministers of all states to allow schools to reopen partially for students of Class X and XII from January 4.

The on-campus classes will specifically be held for students of X and XII who will appear in the ICSE and ISC examinations next year for clearing their doubts and doing practical and project works, according to the CISCE.

All schools had remained closed from March till date due to the pandemic. Students had been taught through online classes throughout the year.

“ For the final run-up to the examinations, CISCE has requested the chief ministers of all state governments/UTs to allow schools to reopen partially, specifically for the students of classes X and XII from January 4, 2021. With the students physically attending school, this time will be utilized 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 the teachers…” Gerry Arathoon, chief executive and secretary of the CISCE said.

According to the CISCE, if permission is granted by the states, the schools will be asked to run the on- campus sessions following the safety guidelines and the standard operating procedures (SOP) of the state governments.

“If allowed to reopen, the schools will be informed to follow the directives of the state government regarding Covid 19 and to conform to the Safety Guidelines and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the State Health Department to prevent spread of corona virus,” the CISCE said.

The council today also requested the Chief Election Commission of India to share the election dates of the states where the polls are due in April and May next year so that the schedules of the 2021 ICSE and ISC examinations can be finalized.

The council wants to know the election schedules to ensure that there is no clash of dates and the two board examinations can be conducted without any interruption.

The CISCE said despite the closure , the schools have continued with the “teaching-learning process”.

“However, despite the closure, most of our schools have continued with the teaching-learning process in an online/offline/blended manner, as indicated by a survey conducted by CISCE on the status of online teaching, assessment and completion of syllabus.,” the CISCE said.