An increasing number of English-medium schools, affiliated to both the ICSE-ISC and state boards, are opting for the January-December academic session.

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which conducts the ICSE and ISC exams, has not yet decided on changing its April-May schedule but is allowing the schools to advance their internal exams.

The state government, on its part, has realised after lengthy deliberations that the May-April session, introduced in 1989, is “defective”. School education minister Partha Dey has announced that the government has decided “in principle” to reintroduce the January-December schedule.

“Some Loreto branches and a number of private English-medium schools in Calcutta have started the process of reverting to the earlier system of beginning the academic session in January,” said a senior official in the state education department.

Gerry Arathoon, the additional secretary and officiating chief executive of the CISCE, said: “We are giving liberty to our affiliated schools to revert to the January-December session if they feel the students will benefit by it.”

The schools opting for the switch, however, will have to meet certain conditions. “The annual teaching-learning hours should not be less than 1,200, students’ attendance should be at least 75 per cent and the entire syllabus has to be completed before the final exams,” said Arathoon.

“Even if the schools switch to the January-December session, there will be no change now in the schedule of the ICSE and ISC exams,” he added. The ICSE and ISC are held in March.

Sources, however, hinted that if other boards revive the earlier system, CISCE, too, may follow suit.

Sister S.M. Cyril, the principal of Loreto Day School, Sealdah, pointed out that the January-December session is best suited for the children as well as the schools.

“There can be at least three more teaching-learning weeks if the session starts in January. Besides, December is the ideal month to hold the annual exams as the weather remains cool and the children don’t tend to fall ill,” she said.

“We will start our academic session in March this year and in February next year. The January-December session will be introduced by 2010,” said Kajari Mukherjee, the principal of Rajasthan Vidya Mandir, affiliated to CISCE.