Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC), the state government agency responsible for academic administration, on Monday announced this year’s matriculation and intermediate board exams to be held from March.

Examinations have been delayed by over two weeks. The announcement was made following a meeting at the JAC office in Namkum. Chairman Arvind Singh said, “We shall start matric and inter exams on March 9 and end on 26. Usually, our exams are held from February 15 every year but in view of the challenges of completion of syllabus and other issues because of the continued lockdown of the schools due to covid-19, we have decided to conduct exams this time from March.”

The JAC has asked all districts to begin identification and finalization of examination centres, keeping in mind Covid safety guidelines. Singh said that with the pandemic far from being over yet, they will ensure that there are enough examination centres across the state so that students and examiners don’t have to face any problems and all safety protocols are followed.

Speaking further, he however said that they will keep in mind proper timeline in declaration of results in accordance with other boards in the country so that students in the state don’t lag behind while seeking admissions in higher centres of learning both within Jharkhand or outside. “We usually churn out results between April-May. But with many boards now digressing from their actual exam calendar because of the unprecedented times, we shall try to match our results in such a way that students don’t face any problem for taking admissions outside the state,” said Singh.

The registration process has already begun for matric and inter. The last date for registration is January 22 without late fee while with penalty, one can do so till January 30, said Singh.

The state government last month allowed reopening of schools for class 10 and 12. All schools are mandated to call students for practical or other works only after getting consent from parents. In November, the state education department also slashed syllabuses by 40 per cent across all classes. Officials maintained that all schools have been sent the updated syllabus last month and the JAC too has started working on devising question papers based on the revised syllabus.