Sunday turned into a working day for a section of students, teachers and school staff because of the ISC (Class XII) first semester exams.
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) had postponed the mathematics exam from November 29 to December 12 because of reasons “beyond control”.
The winter morning did not give any time to a section of teachers and students to relax.They were busy getting ready to report to school and be on time for the exam.
The only relief for the teachers was they had to do one less work today.
Since banks remain closed on Sundays, the question paper-cum-answer booklets were brought to schools on Friday. The supervising examiner and the school’s representative did not have to do the task on Sunday.
Usually for an ISC exam, the question paper-cum-answer booklets are fetched from banks around an hour-and-a-half in advance.
The exam started at 2pm. Campuses had been humming since noon, just like any other working day.
“We are more familiar with an extended weekend but this became an extended working week for all of us,” said Terence John, principal of Julien Day School, Kalyani.
John said students and teachers reached well ahead of time probably because there was “far less traffic on the roads”.
Though exams meant serious business but to make the day more comfortable, South City International School allowed teachers to come in casuals. Biryani was served to them as lunch.
“We look forward to Sundays as a day to unwind ourselves from the daily routine. But this year has been unusual. No matter what, when duty calls we have to come forward and this is for the benefit of the children,” said Moumita Singhania, a teacher of classes XI and XII at South City International School.
For students, especially those in the science stream, there was barely any time to relax.
The chemistry paper is scheduled for Monday.
Back home from school, St James’ student Aditya Malhotra was back to books.
“Perhaps because it was an exam day it did not feel like a weekend and even those at home tried to maintain the mood,” said Aditya.
The announcement about the change in exam date had come a fortnight back and it gave time to the students and teachers to prepare for an exam on Sunday.
Several teachers felt that the pandemic has taught everyone to adapt to changes.
“It did feel different but the pandemic has taught us to adjust to last-minute changes. We would not have wanted the exam to go beyond December 20 and so sacrificing one Sunday is fine,” said Jessica Gomes Surana, principal, Loreto Convent Entally.