COVID-19: CBSE, education ministry discuss postponing Class 10, 12 board exams due to spike in cases

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Ministry of Education officials have discussed postponing the Class 10 and 12 board exams due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to several media reports.

A meeting was held on Monday, 12 April which was attended by both CBSE and Ministry of Education officials wherein the attendees discussed several aspects involved in conducting the board exams.

According to News18.com, sources in the Ministry of Education have said there is no plan to cancel the board exams, but officials are deliberating whether exams can be postponed.

A final decision has not been taken in the meeting that was held yesterday, as per the report.

As per The Times of India, the discussions about postponing the exam are taking place due to rising number of COVID cases.

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Notably, Maharashtra has postponed the state board exams, and Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra’s school education minister, said she would be writing to other boards (CBSE, ICSE) urging them to reconsider holding exams.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have also made similar requests to CBSE. While Rahul suggested that the decision to conduct exams be reconsidered, Priyanka has asked that the board exams be outright cancelled.  The CBSE Class 10 and 12 board exams are scheduled to be held in May.

India is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases, with over 1.60 lakh fresh infections registered in the past 24 hours alone.