Chennai Class 10 student Chittaranjan has promised his father Siva Kumar Bala that his only break will be to watch the match highlights. "But he has a condition. Nobody else in the family is to watch the matches, or tell him who wins till he has seen the replay," said Siva Kumar. Schools have allowed children to stay back after the exams and also come to school during the study holidays to avoid being tempted to watch cricket on TV, on request from parents.

Ahead of the first board exam in the Samacheer Kalvi syllabus, some students and teachers are tense while others feel there will be an easier question paper and liberal evaluation. "It's encouraging to note the absence of five-year question booklets and question banks in the hands of students, and instead see all students - not just toppers - reading every line of the textbook because they don't know what questions to expect," said Shree Niketan Matriculation School correspondent P Vishnucharan.

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It is also a testing time for the state as it tries to level the education field for children in Anglo-Indian, matriculation, oriental and state board schools. "The question paper must be tough enough to challenge children in private matriculation schools, who have a tougher syllabus, and easy enough for children in government schools to ease them to a higher standard," said educational consultant K R Maalathi.