Summary
"As of today, till ‘24 we will have normal examinations, Class X and Class XII. But in ‘25, as soon as the ministry decides we will change,” said Gerry Arathoon
The head of the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which conducts the ICSE (Class X) and ISC (Class XII) exams, has said the fate of the Class X board exams from 2025 will depend on the Centre’s decision.
“As of today, till ‘24 we will have normal examinations, Class X and Class XII. But in ‘25, as soon as the ministry decides we will change,” Gerry Arathoon, chief executive and secretary of the CISCE, said on Monday.
He was responding to a question on whether the Class X exams will be abolished in 2025.
“The NEP (National Education Policy) says there will be one board exam, after Class XII. They also talk about the semester system, but nothing has been decided yet,” Arathoon said.
“Right now, Class X and Class XII (board exams) are existing. As soon as the ministry (Union ministry of education) decides that there will be one board examination, we will take it from there.... Remember we are a private national board, so we will wait for instructions from the ministry,” Arathoon said.
The ministry, he said, has not yet announced anything on the abolition of the Class X board exams.
“But only when the ministry decides.... there is no written instruction (so far). From ‘25, if the ministry gives us instructions not to follow the old pattern, and the new pattern will only be the Class XII examinations, we will follow that,” Arathoon said.
The CISCE on Monday inaugurated a five-day workshop on “school leadership training programme” at the council’s office on Elgin Road.
In 2024, both Class X (ICSE) and Class XII (ISC) exams will have 10 marks of “critical-thinking questions” in major subjects.
Arathoon said many children now reproduce what they have learnt by rote and forget what they have studied once the exams are over. “We don’t want that to happen,” he said.
He also said the council will “set questions that even average or below-average students will be able to attempt. We prepare in such a manner that below-average (students) can answer.”
Arathoon clarified that even if the Class X board exams were to be abolished, there would still be school-based exams. The council will send guidelines to schools on the Class X exams.
“If Class X (board exams) is abolished, we will give them guidelines. We will prepare them (the students), but it (the exam) will be conducted by the schools,” Arathoon said on the sidelines of the workshop.
From 2025, the council will send question papers to schools for the annual examinations in Classes IX and XI.
“Some schools set easy question papers and some very difficult. So there will be parity in the question paper (once the council sends the questions),” Arathoon said.
Sixty school principals, vice-principals and academic coordinators from across the country are attending the workshop, which is being conducted by two resource persons from the National Institute of Education (NIE) International, Singapore, Jimmy Tan and Chan Vee Bun.
“The training programme is based on the NEP 2020,” said Arathoon.
Last updated on 25 Jul 2023
