Summary
About 80,000 students from over 460 schools in Bengal will appear for their first public examinations
The ICSE (Class X) exams start on Wednesday and will continue till March 28.
About 80,000 students from over 460 schools in Bengal will appear for their first public examinations, being conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE).
On Wednesday, students will write their English language paper (English Paper 1).
Each day’s test, except for the art papers, will begin at 11am.
A 15-minute reading time is allotted, so the question papers will be distributed
at 10.45am.
Students across institutions have been asked to reach their schools well in time.
In most schools, students have been given instructions to be followed in the examination halls.
“Since it is their first public exam, we sent detailed instructions to our students. We repeatedly tell them not to carry a mobile phone to the school. And if they carry a phone, they must hand it to the teacher-in-charge before entering the examination hall,” said Terence John, principal, Julien Day School Kalyani.
“Students should keep in mind that even analytical questions will have simple answers and they should approach them with a clear mind,” said Sujoy Biswas, principal, Rammohan Mission High School.
Several principals said “seriousness” about the exams should not lead to more stress among the students. “We keep telling our students to relax,” said Seema Sapru of The Heritage school.
Mental health professionals said the stress and pressure of an examination are transferred to children mostly from adults around them.
“Culturally, exams are given too much importance in our society and that intensifies the pressure on children, who think their entire future will be jeopardised if they do not do well in one exam,” said psychotherapist Farishta Dastur Mukerji.
Psychiatrist Sanjay Garg said the board exams should be treated as any school “annual exam”. “Students should not discuss a paper that has been completed because that only leads to distraction and disturbance,” he said.
Last updated on 21 Feb 2024
