Kolkata: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) is planning to advance the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) or class 10 board exam timing from 2027. Examinations usually scheduled to begin at 11 am are likely to be brought forward by one hour to begin at 10 am.
Sources said the council has already distributed a revised timetable to exam conveners, stating that question paper packets must be withdrawn from banks before 9:15 am and candidates must be seated in exam halls by 9:45 am, when question paper packets will be brought to the rooms. The exam is likely to start at 10 am, giving 15 minutes of reading time, with the actual writing time beginning at 10:15 am. Under this timetable, two-hour exams would end by 12:15 pm, and three-hour exams would end by 1:15 pm. The exams are slated for the morning, but the gap between ICSE and ISC papers is very small, especially as three-hour ICSE exams end at 2 pm.
A senior council official said, “The discussion is still ongoing, but it is important to bring forward the exam timing for ICSE exams. A principal of a prominent city school said, “Bringing forward the exam timing by one hour would not make any major difference for the students, but it would be a great relief for the exam centres preparing for the ISC exams scheduled in the afternoon session.” The council has been holding discussions with various banks where confidential materials are stored.