A number of city schools are set to scrap the summer break for students who will be promoted to Class XI this year to make up for the loss of days resulting from delayed start of the session.
The examinees are also set to have a shorter break between the end of the ICSE (Class X) exams and the start of Class XI session — five to 10 days in most schools, instead of the usual two to three weeks.
The Class X board exams are usually over by the end of March and the Class XI session starts towards the middle of April.
This year, because of the Covid pandemic, the ICSE exams will start on May 5 and continue till June 7. The results are likely to be announced in July.
In previous years Class XI students would get a month-long summer break from the middle of May. A number of city schools Metro spoke to said they were planning to scrap the break to ensure they had enough time to cover all the topics.
The heads of the schools feel the delay in board exams had already encroached on the academic months and they needed to “get on with the next level of learning”.
“The Class X students will be busy with the boards. After that is over, there will be about a weeklong break and the new session will start. There will be no separate summer break for Class XI,” said Suvina Shunglu, the principal of Sri Sri Academy.
Sujoy Biswas, the principal of Rammohan Mission High School, said they, too, were having similar plans.
“The Class XI session will start within a week of the end of the Class X board exams. There will be no separate summer break for them. By the time the Class XI session starts, in all probability the summer break for the rest of the school will be over.”
Usually, ICSE candidates get three weeks before they start Class XI in April. This year the gap is likely to be reduced.
Modern High School for Girls, St James’ School, The Heritage School, Sri Sri Academy and St Augustine's Day School in Calcutta are some of the institutions that are planning to start the Class XI session days after the end of the Class X exams. At many schools the gap will be five to 10 days.
“We will start Class XI after a reasonable break from the last paper of Class X boards. So far there is no intimation whether there will be any reduction in syllabus and we will proceed with the assumption that students are expected to study the entire syllabus,” said Damayanti Mukherjee, the principal of Modern High School for Girls.
Teachers believe curtailing the syllabus might not be prudent for the plus II students. “There has to be a linear progression and when they move to college they will be expected to have the basic knowledge of certain things,” said Seema Sapru, the principal of The Heritage School.
Teachers said the reduced break would only help students complete the syllabus and move ahead.
“Normally, students get about three weeks’ break. But this time it will be a week-long break,” said Shunglu, of Sri Sri Academy.
Terence Ireland, the principal of St James’ School, too said they would have a reduced break this year for Class XI.