Patna, Jan. 4: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has set the ball rolling for this year’s examinations by announcing the dates for Class X and XII exams.

CBSE Patna region (which includes Bihar and Jharkhand) deputy director K.K. Jain on Wednesday said: “The examinations for both the classes will begin on March 1.”

On the other hand, the dates for Class X school-based examinations are yet to be announced. “The board hasn't sent the necessary instructions to the schools yet. We'll work accordingly and decide the dates only after the instructions arrive,” a school principal said.

The options of school-based and board examinations are for the students of senior secondary schools and not secondary schools. The students who are opting for school-based examinations in Class X would get a priority while seeking admission to class XI. The students would continue with the same board and in the same school in Class XI, unlike those going for board-based examination, and would get more priority.

Sources said most of the students in Patna district have opted for school-based examinations and they would appearing for the test this year.

Rishabh Raj, a Class XII student of Radiant International School, told The Telegraph: “I am tensed because it's a matter of preparing for two things - first to get good marks in the board examinations; second is getting prepared for competitive examinations. I am preparing for engineering and the syllabus is entirely different. While preparing for engineering, we find that there are some chapters that are quite different from each other. As a result, we have to study more. We are not even sure whether it's sufficient or not. We have very little time to revise.”

Anjali Singh, a Class XII student who has opted for board-based examination, said: “We have to study for both the board examination and the competitive examination. This creates problems for us. We are in a fix on what to do. But since I do not have time to revise my chapters, I keep forgetting things. There is not enough time to revise before the exams.”

Mohit Singh, whose son is appearing for the Class XII examination, said: “My child has been working hard. But since the dates are announced, he is a bit tensed. I’ll have to ensure that he does not have to face many problems during preparations. I'll be there for him if he needs my help.”

It is important to keep him tension-free so that he performs well and in the best possible manner.