New Delhi, April 14: As the CBSE cancelled its exams for class 10 and deferred those for class 12, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra have also postponed their state board exams for these classes due to an alarming surge in coronavirus cases.
States like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh said they were monitoring the situation and are yet to decide whether to go ahead with the board exams. Karnataka said it will conduct the exams as scheduled.
The developments came as the central government announced the cancellation of class 10 exams and the postponement of class 12 exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education, following a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the first time that the CBSE has completely cancelled the board exams and it will affect over 21 lakh students across the country.
The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the other prominent national board besides the CBSE, said it will soon decide on conducting class 10 and 12 board exams. “We are reviewing the situation and will soon take a decision in this regard,” CICSE Chief Executive and Secretary Gerry Arathoon said. Its class 10 exams are scheduled to begin from May 5 while class 12 exams have already begun from April 8.
The board exams last year had been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Students were evaluated based on internal assessment.
The Himachal Pradesh government postponed the ongoing state board exams for classes 10 and 12 in the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases, state education secretary Rajeev Sharma said.
The Maharashtra government had on Monday postponed the state board exams of Classes 10 and 12, which were scheduled to be held later this month. The state government would study and discuss the CBSE’s move of cancelling its Class 10 exam before taking any such decision for the state education board exams, minister Varsha Gaikwad said on Wednesday.
The Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education announced the postponement of the examinations of classes 10 and 12. The exams of the high school, higher secondary and diploma in pre-school education (vocational course) were scheduled to begin from April 30 and May 1.
The Rajasthan government also decided to postpone the state education board examinations for classes 10 and 12. The decision was taken by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot after discussions with Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra because of the second wave of coronavirus infection, the state government said in a statement.
Chhattisgarh government had earlier put off class 10 exams which were scheduled to begin on April 15. Tamil Nadu too had in February cancelled class 10 exams.
West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said an appropriate decision will be taken giving priority to the health of students. The exams are scheduled to start in June. “The government will certainly take a decision in the interest of students at the appropriate time considering the COVID-19 situation,” he told reporters.
Karnataka State Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said the state government has not taken any decision on cancelling the state board class 10 exams.
UP Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, who also holds the portfolio of secondary education, indicated that the state is yet to decide whether it will go ahead with the board exams scheduled from May 8. (PTI)
