No winter break for CBSE class 9 students, annual exams slated to begin on Jan 2

HYDERABAD: Not all students are able to enjoy the winter break or welcome the New Year happily: Final exams begin for CBSE Class 9 students from January 2. Last year, the exams were held in February.

Those who had booked their holiday tickets long ago are also saddened as they have to either cancel their tickets or carry books with them on their ‘study-vacation’.

But Class IX SSC students do not have such problems as their exams will be held only in April.

CBSE Class IX students said they were unable to enjoy the winter break, though this is the only time of the year where they get to spend time with their family as their parents take a break from work.

“We are stressed out. We have to not only prepare for our exams but also plan our farewell to our seniors. Not all portions have been completed. We needed some more time to prepare,” said a student.

CBSE school principals believe that it is necessary to conduct exams now to give students more time for their Class 10 Board exams. The Class 10 syllabus is likely to start from January 16-17.

“Last year many CBSE schools conducted the exams for Class 9 students in February. From February 18 they started classes for Class 10 and they continued till April-end. The schools reopened after summer break in the second week of June. This year they will break for summer vacation from April 22 to June 10. This way we are at least getting 25 days of extra classes for the students, which is quite helpful,” said Sangeeta Raghuram, principal of a CBSE school in the city.

“We have had enough holidays this year. We are given a potion of 365 days and we had only 153 working days making us rush the portion. Now there is a return of the Covid fear. Hence, we are keen to finish final exams at the earliest,” said a CBSE school principal.

Tale to two boards

Class 9 students of CBSE and SSC face very different schedules

CBSE

Class 9 exams from January 2.

They will start their syllabus for Class 10 from January 16-17.

They may get more time for their Board exams

SSC

Exams from April 1-17

Students get about month-and-a-half of summer vacation.

They may get less time for their SSC