Two semesters, two exams for both ICSE and ISC

KOLKATA: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which conducts the ICSE (Class X) and ISC (Class XII) board examinations, on Friday announced a decision to bifurcate each of the exams into two semesters, with the first semester exams to be conducted in November this year in online mode and the second semester in March/April 2022 either online or offline, depending on the Covid numbers. Each semester would cover approximately 50% of the syllabus.
The decision was taken in view of the “continuing pandemic situation in the country and the disruption in educational activities... due to closure of schools”, the council said in a communique to school principals signed by Gerry Arathoon, its chief executive and secretary.

CBSE, too, had on July 6 announced a similar decision to bifurcate its exams, adding its scheme would be continued beyond the pandemic.
According to the notification, the first semester exam for both classes X and XII would comprise multiple choice questions (MCQ). This would be held online. The second semester could be either online or offline, which the council will announce later, taking a call based on the prevailing pandemic situation. “There will be no overlapping of syllabus and the final marks will be given on the basis of performance in both exams,” said a source.
The question papers for each semester will be 80/100 marks for ICSE and 70/80 marks for ISC, in accordance with the maximum marks allocated for the theory component of each subject. However, the weightage of marks for each semester — to be finally used for computing the board results — would be brought down to half. ISC candidates will also have practicals and projects, for which the marks weightage remains the same.
If the situation permits, ISC practicals will be held in school. The council has asked schools to maintain a proper record of these assessments and said it may even ask schools to send samples of work done by candidates. For ICSE candidates, internal assessment will also be taken into account, in addition to semester exams.
Schools will be required to upload marks for practicals, project work, internal assessment and SUPW grades by a specified date at the end of each semester.
While CISCE will conduct the two semester exams in classes X and XII, it has clarified that it will not be involved in the examinations for classes IX and XI.
La Martiniere for Boys principal John Stephen said there would be a “curtailment” of teaching time. “We already have pre-Puja exams; now, there will be a post-Puja exam also.... We will have to somehow make up for it. I believe the council will employ its IT team to structure the MCQ question paper in a way that there will be automated correction,” he added.
Heritage School principal, Seema Sapru, said: “We have already counted that there are 43 days before the Pujas, by which time a lot of ground will have to be covered.” Father Rodney Borneo, principal, St Augustine’s Shyamnagar, felt the new measures would bring much-needed relief to students reeling under an online overload.