Class 10 exams in Puducherry cancelled, all students to be promoted, announces V Narayanasamy

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy has announced that Class 10 examinations in the Union Territory have been cancelled and all students will be promoted to the next grade. The decision has been taken in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Class 10th examinations in Puducherry stand cancelled, all the students will be promoted to the next class: Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy pic.twitter.com/2V27fffwbo

— ANI (@ANI) June 9, 2020

Narayamasamy’s decision came close on the heels of Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami announcing the cancellation of Class 10 and 11 exams in the state. [caption id=“attachment_4316037” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy. News18[/caption] Palaniswami made the announcement a  day after Madras High Court, on Monday, said that the state government should consider postponement of Tamil Nadu Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) or Class 10 board examination due to the mounting number of COVID-19 cases. Narayanasamy yesterday said that holding virtual classes for students appearing for the Puducherry Class 10 was not feasible as most of them in rural areas do not have a smartphone. The chief minister also said that he would write to the Union Human Resource Development Ministry informing about the problems in holding virtual classes, reported  Hindustan Times. He stated that the interests of rural students will be taken care of and his government would take convenient steps to hold classes for such students. Vice-Chancellor of Pondicherry University Gurmeet Singh was also asked to wait for the directive from the HRD ministry for conducting examinations. _**Follow Latest Updates on Coronavirus Outbreak**_ The Puducherry government in March, following the imposition of the first phase of the COVID-19 lockdown, decided to cancel all examinations for students of Class 1-9 as part of measures to contain the spread of the deadly virus. The students of these classes were promoted to the next class without conducting exams. The government order was applicable to the schools adopting the State Board syllabus as wells as private schools, reported PTI quoting Director of School Education PT Rudra Goud. The Telanagana government also decided to cancel Class 10 exams due to the coronavirus pandemic. With inputs from agencies