This has been done to avoid the controversy regarding the equivalence of certificates with that of the Board’s certificates. Besides, this would also ensure that the certificates are not forged. Moreover, the Board has decided to conduct the matriculation examination in March every year in winter closing schools along with the summer closing schools of the state. Earlier, the matriculation examination in winter closing schools were held in December every year.

The Class VIII examination in winter closing schools, however, would be held in December as earlier. For the benefit of students, the Board has also decided to upgrade 115 examination centres and set up 61 new centres. These decisions were taken at a meeting of Board of Directors (BoD) of the education Board on Wednesday. In another decision, the BoD okayed the Punjabi syllabus for Classes VI, VII and VIII. Punjabi has been introduced as an optional subject in some schools.