Schools that will serve as evaluation centres for CBSE papers will resume the new session for classes IX, X and XII after April 15.

The decision has been taken because teachers from the senior sections of schools will be busy evaluating answer scripts. The extra time is to ensure speedy evaluation and timely declaration of results. The rest of the school will resume the new academic session from April 4.

The regional office of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued a notice suspending academic activities for classes IX, X and XII until April 15. CBSE regional officer (Bihar and Jharkhand) R.R. Meena issued the order.

During a meeting held in December last year, he said the decision was made to give enough time to teachers to evaluate the board papers and also to ensure the quality of evaluation .

"If the results are declared on time, students will get ample time to apply for admission to other schools or colleges and also for re-evaluation procedure, if any," he said. ?

Baldwin Academy principal Rajiv Ranjan Sinha said senior classes will resume from April 18 at his school.

"According to CBSE, the schools which are serving as evaluation centres must start their academic session from mid-April but most do not adhere to it," he said. "We are taking the notification seriously this year."

"The evaluation process had started and it will hopefully conclude before the third week of April," said O. Prakash Singh, vice-principal of Patna Central School. "By the end of April, all the evaluated papers will be submitted to the regional office. If the papers are submitted on time, students will get their results in no time."

"Bihar was the last to declare CBSE results last year," said Harshvardhan Ojha, a student at St Michael's School who appeared for his board exams this year. "I hope we get the results in time this year."

The students were happy because an extended session break meant more time for other activities.

Vivek Singh, a Class XII student of Loyola High School, has already started training himself in mathematics.

"I want to prepare myself well for next year's competitive exams," he said.

Apurva Joshi, a Class IX student of Krishna Niketan, is enjoying her extended holiday with her parents in Nainital.

"It is the first time that I am visiting a hill station," she said.