ICSI Announces Extra Time for Question Reading, New Paper Pattern & Syllabus from December 2023

New Delhi: Starting in December, the ICSI for Company Secretary course exams will provide students with an additional 15 minutes to read the questions. This upcoming round of ICSI Executive exams will also be the first to follow the new paper pattern and syllabus, as announced by President CS Manish Gupta during a recent webinar with students. 

Also, the ICSI has reopened the window for enrollment forms for CS Executive and Professional exams with a late fee, beginning on October 17 and available to students until October 19, 2023. 

According to Gupta, this marks the "final chance" for enrollment in the December 2023 session examination.

Gupta also announced various changes and fresh initiatives implemented by ICSI regarding exams and syllabus revisions, addressing concerns about paper evaluation from the June 2023 exams.

ICSI initiated the enrollment procedure for the December session exams on August 25, which coincided with the announcement of CS Executive and Professional results for the June 2023 session. The regular enrollment deadline was set for September 25, with a late fee option available until October 10, 2023. 

Gupta mentioned in the webinar that the students have reached out to the ICSI expressing their inability to complete registration for the December 2023 examination. 

In consideration of their concerns, the registration window for the examination was reopened with a late fee, which began on October 17 at 4 PM and concluded at 11:59 PM on October 19. He also highlighted that this was the final registration deadline. 

He also shared updates regarding the changes in the examination process and the paper format for ICSI exams.

ICSI Announces Exam Changes for December 2023 Session

The CS Executive and Professional exam forms can be accessed via the ICSI Smash portal at smash.icsi.edu. The CS Executive exams for December 2023 will be conducted in a traditional pen-and-paper format from December 21 to 29, 2023. 

President Gupta revealed that beginning with the December 2023 examinations, students will be granted an extra 15 minutes for each paper.

He explained that it had been decided that all students would receive an additional 15 minutes to review the question paper. This change will take effect starting with the December 2023 session. The primary goal is to offer students ample time to plan their responses and prioritize questions they need to address first. 

Changes in ICSI Exam Syllabus and Curriculum

The institute has revised the CS Executive and CS Professional course curriculum in 2022, with the revised syllabus being unveiled in September.

Enrollment for the CS Executive course under the new syllabus began on February 1, 2023, and all new registrations for the CS Executive course now adhere to the new syllabus.

The first examination for Executive students enrolled under the new syllabus will take place in December 2023. Those pursuing the CS Executive course under the old syllabus still have two more opportunities in December 2023 and June 2024 to continue with the previous syllabus. They also have the option to switch to the new syllabus, Gupta explained.

Registration for the CS Professional course with the new syllabus commenced on August 1. The initial examination for CS Professional students following the new syllabus will take place in June 2024. 

Meanwhile, those currently pursuing CS Professional courses under the old syllabus still have two opportunities - in June 2024 and December 2024 - to continue with the old syllabus. For existing students under the old syllabus who wish to switch to the new syllabus, a registration window for switchover will open on November 21, 2023.

 Also Check: CS Exam Dates 2023

Gupta stated that the updated ICSI syllabus aligns with the future vision of ICSI. He highlighted the organization's commitment to preparing students for the challenges of the corporate world and mentioned the alignment with the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. 

To streamline the curriculum, they have reduced the number of papers from 17 to 14, placing a stronger emphasis on practical components. Furthermore, the paper's question pattern has been revised in accordance with the new syllabus. 

He added that they will have case-based studies wherein objective-type questions would be of 20 marks. The question pattern of papers under the old syllabus will remain the same under the new syllabus.

Doubt Clearing Classes for ICSI 

Gupta mentioned that the institute offers cost-effective live doubt-clearing classes for the entire module. However, due to low enrollment, there won't be any classes for executive students in the old course. 

For each subject, there will be five sessions available at a cost of INR 1,000. Registration for the December 2023 executive new course and professional old course is currently open and will continue until November 6, 2023, with classes starting on November 6. Gupta encourages students to take advantage of this opportunity to address their doubts.

In addition, Gupta announced that starting on December 1, centralized Oral Tuition Classes (OTC) will be organized directly by the ICSI headquarters. These live classes will be free of charge and open to students nationwide, with class recordings accessible for one year.

Paper Evaluation for ICSI June 2023

ICSI President Gupta informed that the institute has introduced digital evaluation for ICSI examination papers since the June 2023 attempt. 

Despite the considerable challenge of processing over 80,000 student papers and more than 3 lakh copies, these copies underwent scanning and were then distributed to individual evaluators via software. 

This method ensures that there is no room for unchecked answers or totalling errors, as evaluators are required to assign marks to each question number. Gupta emphasized that this approach is designed in the student's best interest.

In response to claims that answer copies were assessed using Artificial Intelligence (AI), he firmly stated that there is no AI involvement in the checking process. Copies are physically and manually evaluated by human assessors, and there is no need to spread rumours. 

Further, Gupta highlighted that the institute provides grace marks to all students if any incorrect questions are identified.

He conveyed that students have a window of 60 days after the results are declared, and an additional 15 days after they receive their answer copies through Right To Information (RTI) applications to apply for a re-verification of their marks. In any case, the final date for submitting re-verification requests for marks is October 25, 2023.

While the regulations don't permit paper revaluation, if candidates have any concerns, they can seek a verification of their marks. Students are encouraged to address mark verification issues by contacting vom@icsi.edu. 

Approximately 700 emails were received, but it should be noted that all the emails were standardized, with identical subject lines and content. Every email was carefully reviewed, and it was evident that some were sent without genuine concerns. Gupta advised students to maintain professional behavior in their communications.

In the annual examination of June 2023, a significant number of Company Secretary (CS) course students received their results in August 2023. 

Expressing their dissatisfaction with the results provided by ICSI, these students obtained their answer copies and claimed that they had been assigned zero or just one mark in numerous five and ten-mark questions in various papers, despite their responses aligning with the module and suggested answers.

Assuring that the institute will address valid concerns and take remedial action, ICSI Secretary Ashish Mohan mentioned that the entire country was looking to them as the force that would define the entire corporate governance process in the nation. He pointed out that they were the ones who would eventually serve on the boards of major companies and handle complex situations. 

Highlighting that the examination was just one component of the entire process and that passing on the first attempt was a rare achievement, with most students needing multiple attempts to succeed, he explained that the purpose of the examination was to cultivate the future caliber of professionals ready to confront various challenges and lead companies. He also assured the students that wherever genuine concerns were identified, remedial actions would be taken.

Earlier, the ICSI had issued warnings of potential 'disciplinary actions' against students who raised questions about their CS results.

Read More: 

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