ICSE Class 5th and 8th students to face board exam from 2018

The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) class 5 and 8 students will have to face board examinations from 2018, council CEO Gerry Arathoon said in Kolkata on Wednesday.

However, there will be no pass-fail tags, Arathoon added.

“It will be just a periodical evaluation exercise to have an idea on the progress of the students’ learning after a particular level,” the CEO said.

He told a press conference the board has decided to introduce three compulsory subjects -- Sanskrit, yoga and performing arts. Yoga and performing arts will be compulsory between classes 1 and 8. Sanskrit will be taught in classes 5 to 8.

“In the Class 5 and 8 board examinations, the answer papers of the students of one school will be evaluated by teachers of another school, as it happens in case of the final class 10 level examination,’ he added.

The questions for both the board examinations at Class 5 and Class 8 will be provided by the Board.

All the ICSE-affiliated schools will have to follow uniform syllabus from nursery till class 10. So far, the schools had the freedom to decide the syllabi from nursery to Class 10.

“The new uniform syllabi will be effective from 2018,” Arathoon said.