'How can you expect a third standard student to face board examinations? It would be a punishment for the students - weighing them down psychologically,' said Tilak Raj, a teacher in a private school in the walled city of Jammu.

'If it (the government) is having problems with its own system and schools, it should restrict such absurd practices to their schools,' the teacher said.

Another teacher in a private school, Hem Raj Sharma, pointed out that there is a vast gap in teaching standards in government and private schools.

He said the government should undertake a survey on why it's so, instead of doing something that would have an adverse effect on the minds of young children, as most students in Class 3 are eight or nine years of age.

'We deliver good results; why are we being asked to do so?' he asked.

Government school teachers are also unhappy over the move. 'Instead of improving standards, these may further decline, as students of this tender age are unable to go through the rigours of board examination,' a government school principal said on condition of anonymity.