Director Public Instructions (Schools) S K Setia told Newsline: “All government and popular private schools will be required to follow the guidelines laid down by this Board, the Chandigarh School Education Board. To start with, the re-tests in government schools that will be held in May will be conducted by this Board. From the next session, all concerned schools will come under the ambit of its operation.”

The Board wants to centralise examinations in order to put a stop to arbitrary practices followed in schools. Since question papers will be set externally, they will be of higher and uniform standard.

The propensity of teachers to “advise” students to study only certain portions of the syllabus while ignoring the rest, will also be curbed. Answersheets will also be marked externally.

Setia said the Board will also make attendance mandatory. “In some schools, attendance is not compulsory. This allows students to enroll in coaching classes; they can also sit for exams with poor attendance. The Board will stop all this,” Setia said.

District Education Officer Khushinder Sharma said, “A separate branch is required to look after the examination process, otherwise it gets tedious and difficult for the Department. The Board will also follow the existing syllabus.”