Crucial Board Exams To Start Just 3 Days After Pre-Finals

Hyderabad: The T-struggle has taken its toll on SSC students with students getting a mere three days time to prepare for the all-important Board exams. Owing to T-trouble and acceding to the demand of several government school teachers from the region, the District Examinations Department (DED) has decided to conduct the pre-final (preparatory exam for SSC) from March 5, just 15 days before the SSC exam. 

   Until last year, pre-final was held in the month of February. However, due to postponement of pre-final this time, which will be held from March 5 to 18, the DED has decided to conduct the SSC exam from March 22. 

   According to secondary education department officials, government schools which had given many unofficial holidays due to T-struggle in the region in the last two months, are hopeful of completing the syllabus before the pre-final exam. Even the revision time is being used for the purpose and hence, they asked for p o s t p o n e - ment of prefinals exam. 

   “Most of the school managements were expecting a postponement of SSC-2010 and had gone slow with the syllabus. When the minister for secondary education, D Manikya Vara Prasad Rao announced earlier this month that there will be no postponement of SSC, many schools rushed in with requests for postponement of pre-finals,” said an official from secondary education department. Most of the requests came from government and aided schools in the ‘T’ belt. With the DEOs of all the ‘T’ districts submitting a report in favour of a late beginning of pre-finals, the district examinations department arrived at the decision to conduct exams in March after giving ample time for the teachers to complete the syllabus. 

   However, the private schools in the state are miffed with the decision of postponement of the pre-finals. “In most private schools, students are doing their revisions. The students would have benefited from an early pre-finals since it would have familiarised them with the question paper pattern well in advance,” said Srinivas Reddy, president, Recognised Schools Association.
   Some of the private school managements said that they are waiting for the pre-finals to commence in order to find out the pattern of certain question papers including that of Special English examination.