At least one school had to isolate a student who was running a temperature during the ISC paper on Tuesday and several others said many examinees had complained of cough and cold.
The fluctuation in weather followed by an increased incidence of cough and cold has made schools repeatedly ask students to take precautions to stay healthy during the duration of the exams.
The last paper is on March 31. Students have so far appeared for two exams — English language and literature.
On Tuesday, at a school on the northern outskirts of the city, a student wrote the exam separately from his classmates because he was running a mild temperature, the school authorities said.
“The previous day, he was seen taking out a pill at the end of the exam. When the supervising examiner inquired, he said he had a fever. We asked for a doctor’s prescription and on Tuesday he was made to write the paper separately,” said the principal.
Teachers in several schools said students had been complaining of cough and cold.
“Complaints of being unwell do not reach us unless it is severe and unmanageable. Since it is the board exam, parents give them medicine and send them,” said the principal of an ISC school.
The schools have arranged for separate rooms so if someone feels unwell, they can write the paper from there.
On Wednesday, South City International School issued a notice to parents of Class XII examinees bringing to their notice the need to stay fit given the “extended gaps” in between papers.
“There are some extended gaps in between papers due to the various subject combinations... The city is facing plenty of weather fluctuations which results in viral fevers... Please ensure that your child utilises the time between these papers sensibly. Most of the time we just need to use our common sense to stay fit,” the notice from the school says.
Schools have recommended that students sleep and eat well.
“Keeping themselves physically fit during the exam is crucial and also a challenge. We tell our students to sleep and eat well. If there is low immunity and the body is stressed, the children become more susceptible to pathogens around,” said Rupkatha Sarkar, principal of La Martiniere for Girls.
Sarkar said they had advised the students to carry their blazers with them for exams and avoid drinking cold water.
“The number of students complaining of cough and cold is definitely high. We have a nurse on duty so that if children show severe symptoms they can be isolated to write an exam,” said Terence Ireland, principal of St James’ School.
“The number of viral infections is definitely up. This kind of weather — neither hot nor cold — is an ideal temperature for viruses to multiply,” said Chandramouli Bhattacharya, infectious diseases expert.
Bhattacharya said he had more elderly patients but many of them were saying several in their houses were unwell, too.