Chennai: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), in a bid to reduce stress faced by students during exams has come up with an announcement for class IX students to give half an hour extra during their annual exams papers.

In its recent circular to all the CBSE affiliated schools about the conduct of the summative assessment for Class IX students, the Board has asked them not to be strict with the time limit and, "allow students flexible timing to answer question papers. This may vary from three to three-and-a-half hours."

The decision, said the circular, was taken into consideration since the pace at which students answer the questions varies.

Lalitha Chandrasekaran, principal of DAV Girls Senior Secondary School in Gopalapuram, said, "The extra half an hour will not only ease the tension of students but will also allow them more time to think and write clearly. It will also give a chance to those slower than others to complete their exam."

With the recent directive of the Board, the level of anxiety among students has decreased and the news of completing the exam in more than the stipulated time has generated confidence.

Abhishek Jain, class IX student of Chinmaya Vidyalaya rejoiced upon the decision and said that, "Since I am a slow writer, so I am worried right from the moment my exam starts. I become anxious whether I’ll be able to finish my exam on time, especially language papers which are usually lengthy. Now, the CBSE's directive has given me confidence and I feel I will be able to finish my paper."

According to the educationists, the Board's move is in tune with reforms in school education announced by Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry, which said that such an initiative would help the student overcome the examination jitters and ease the stress levels.

Educational consultant KR Maalathi said, "It has been often insisted by parents and teachers that they at least attempt all the questions and complete the papers. It is very common among students to just have a glance on the keywords of the question and start attempting without reading the question properly. Many of them follow this practice while answering the objective type questions. Providing the students with extra time limit will definitely help solve the problem."