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Tamil Nadu Schools Scramble to Prepare for Half-Yearly Exams
16 Nov
Summary
- Half-yearly exams for Classes 12, 11, and 10 begin on Dec 10
- Classes 6-9 exams from Dec 15-23, no study breaks
- Teachers say finishing portions before exams is a "daunting task"
As of November 16, 2025, the Tamil Nadu school education department has announced that the half-yearly exams for Class 12, 11, and 10 state board students will begin on December 10 with the Tamil paper. The exams are scheduled to conclude on December 23. For students in Classes 6-9, the exams will be held from December 15 to 23.
While the higher secondary and SSLC (Class 10) students have study holidays between the tests, the middle school students in Classes 6-9 do not get any such breaks. This has created a challenging situation for teachers, who say that finishing the portions before the half-yearly exams will be a "daunting task."
A government school headmaster explains that at least 2 to 3 chapters are still pending for each subject, despite the mid-term exams being completed only in the last week. Teachers also cite various school activities, such as mandatory field visits, college visits, and education tours, as well as a recent AI session by an NGO, as factors that have taken up significant class time. The fear of school closures due to rain is another constraint, as the last week is ideally needed for revision.
Despite the time crunch, the headmaster of the Kovalam government higher secondary school, Nakkeeran, believes the situation is "manageable" with the 17-20 days available for the tests.
