HYDERABAD: The Board of Intermediate Examinations and the Directorate of Government Examinations will decide the final schedules of the Intermediate Public Examination (IPE) and Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations of the current academic year tomorrow.

Heightening the worry in the minds of students and parents in the State, the examination schedules of the crucial Tenth and Intermediate examinations have still not been announced due to reasons well known to everyone by now.  Now the biggest challenge before the officials is to assess the situation after the latest bandh and chalk out the final schedule of the examinations.

Intermediate students and parents, in particular, have reason to worry about the delay in the announcement of the schedule of the examinations as the 10+2 (Intermediate) schedule for the Central Board of Secondary Education, better known as CBSE, has announced the commencement of its examinations on March 4.

``Apart from EAMCET, we have to appear for other entrance examinations like IIT, AIEEE, AIIMS and AFMC. It is unfair for us to be left in a dilemma unlike students of SSC and CBSE students in other States who have a planned their schedules much in advance,'' says S Sushma, a second-year Intermediate student. Students point out that they can no more take the Intermediate examinations lightly since it carries 25 per cent weightage in EAMCET ranking.

Officials are taking all possible measures to minimise the loss of the academic year like postponing the examinations by at least two or three weeks. Earlier, the Intermediate and Tenth Class examinations were scheduled to commence in the first week of March. Disclosing that they have prepared three different schedules for Intermediate students, a senior BIE official says, ``We are waiting for the secondary education department's orders to decide the final schedule.'' The department might take a decision by assessing the situation after the strike called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee on December 30.

In the wake of receiving representations from colleges and students, BIE officials say that they are trying their best not to reschedule the Intermediate examinations but admit that postponement is inevitable as many colleges have not completed the syllabi.

The preparatory time for students would, therefore, be very less.