Class 10 boards likely in March, exam centres being identified

Preparations have begun for conducting Class 10 board exams in March with School Education Department identifying the exam centres. Tamil Nadu government had already announced its decision to conduct board exams for the students studying in Classes 11 and 12 between March and April 2022.

Accordingly, more than 25 lakh students from Classes 10 to 12 in government and private schools are expected to appear for board exams. For the Class 10 board exam alone, about 9.5 lakh students are expected to appear.

A senior official from the School Education Department, seeking anonymity, told DT Next on Monday that since Class 10 board exams will be conducted well before the 11th and 12th board exams, “authorities will be identifying exam centres across the state, which would be conducive and safe for the students,” he added.

Once the list of the exam centres is submitted, the official said inspections will be carried out by the respective district education authorities and the report submitted to the government.

The official also said that suggestions and feedback will also be sought from the health experts and academicians on whether to increase the exam centres in order to maintain social distancing.

“Apart from identifying the exam centres, details of the students, who will be appearing for the Class 10 board exams, will also be uploaded in the Educational Management Information System (EMIS), an online platform connecting schools, teachers and students,” he said.

Pointing out that a detailed circular had been sent to all the schools with regard to the reduced syllabus, the official said: “The question paper, which is expected to be prepared in January 2022, will be based on the decreased curriculum”.

He said all the headmasters especially in the government and government-aided schools have been asked to instruct the teachers to cover all the portions before February 2022 so that students will have enough time to revise them before appearing for the exams.

“Other activities including distribution of hall tickets for the students will also be done simultaneously,” he said adding “a proper exam timetable will also be prepared and sent to the government for the approval”.