Tamil Nadu bows to requests, defers Class 10 exams to June 15

Releasing the new timetable, School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan on Tuesday said SSLC exams will be held from June 15 to June 25. “A decision was taken in this regard by the Chief Minister following request from various quarters,” he added. According to the new schedule, the language exam will be held on June 15 and after a day, the exam for English will be conducted on June 17. The Mathematics exam has been scheduled on June 19 and students will appear for an optional language exam the next day. Exams for Science and Social Science will be held on June 22 and 24 respectively. The last exam for the vocational subject will be held on June 25. As per the original schedule, Class 10 board exams were scheduled from March 27 to April 13. However, it was postponed to June 1 because of the earlier lockdown extension. The Minister also announced that Class 11 exams for Chemistry, Accountancy and Geography, which could not be conducted, will be held on June 16. “Similarly, Class 12 students, who were absent for the last exam held on March 24, can write their pending exams on June 18,” he added.

Asserting that all precautionary measures will be taken while conducting the exams, Sengottaiyan said that the School Education Department will join hands with the Revenue Department by ensuring safety of the students. “Proper social distancing will be maintained by allowing only 10 students in one classroom,” he said. Stating that a detailed GO will be released after a couple of days, Sengottaiyan said, “The order will have all details regarding the examinations.”

Welcoming the government decision to postpone exams, Tamil Nadu Teachers Association PK Ilamaran urged the School Education Department to conduct classes at least for two weeks before conducting the exams to allay the fears of both students and teachers.