Tamil Nadu education department releases exam calender, even before start of session

The TN education department believes that the advance schedule will help schools to plan their curriculum. Parents, however, believe that teachers may just rush through the syllabus to meet the deadline. Class XII board exams will be held from March 1 to April 6. The results will be announced on May 30.   

Students in Tamil Nadu were in for a surprise in the very first month of their new session when the Tamil Nadu education department released the complete examination schedule for Class X, XI, and XII board exams scheduled for 2018. According to a notification released by the directorate of government examinations on Tuesday, Class XII board exams will be held from March 1 to April 6. The results will be announced on May 30. Class X exams will be held from March 16 to April 20 and the results will be announced on May 23. Class XI exams will be held between March 7 and April 16 and the results will be declared on May 30. 

Interestingly, even the timings of the exams have also been released. While Class XII exams will be held from 10:15 am to 1:15 pm, the timings for the Class X and XI exams will be between 10 am and 12:45 pm. As per the circular, the students should spend the first 10 minutes to read the question paper and the next 5 minutes to clarify all doubts. 

The government said that the schedule was released in advance so that the teachers could prepare the students accordingly. Teachers should also ensure that the students should not take any stress in preparing for the tests. Some schools, however, welcoming the move said that this would help them plan things better and in advance. Speaking to TOI, Correspondent of Shree Niketan Group of Schools Vishnucharan said that it will be easier for schools to plan ahead of time and set targets. He further added, "This is the first time for us to work like this. We don't know how it may pan out, but schools cannot blame the government saying they were unprepared.In a way, it's also good for families as they can plan their vacations keeping these dates in mind."

Others, specially parents, were of a different opinion who said that teachers will only rush through the syllabus to avoid any possible delays. It is also said that the government is not mulling over any possible delays in the academic year and therefore all schools have to stick to the exam schedule. Prince Gajendra Babu of the State Platform for Common School System said, "It is the responsibility of the government to provide a stress-free atmosphere to students in classrooms, but this will instead create excessive stress on them. Students already know their exams will fall in the first week of March so announcing these dates is not required."