Coronavirus | CBSE postpones Class 12 exams, cancels Class 10 exams

Board will review situation on June 1. Objective criterion choice offered to Class 10 students

April 14, 2021 12:22 pm | Updated December 02, 2021 10:39 pm IST - New Delhi

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. File

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’. File

Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Class 12 examinations of the CBSE have been postponed while the Class 10 examinations have been cancelled, the Education Ministry said on Wednesday. The decision was taken after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the situation.

Both exams were scheduled to be held from May 4 to June 14. With Class 12 results being the basis for admission into higher education institutions, it has been decided to postpone the exams. The CBSE will review the situation on June 1. A notice of at least 15 days will be given before the start of the examinations, said the Ministry statement.

 

For Class 10 students, results will be prepared on the basis of an objective criterion to be developed by the Board. Any candidate who is not satisfied with the allocated marks will be allowed to write an exam as and when conditions are conducive, said the Ministry.

The PM’s review meeting came amid rising demands from students, parents and State governments for the exams to be cancelled or postponed, given that the daily rate of infections is regularly crossing the 1.5-lakh mark. During the meeting, “the Prime Minister reiterated that the well being of the students has to be the top priority for the government. He also said the Centre would keep in mind the best interests of the students and ensure that their health is taken care of at the same time their academic interests are not harmed,” said the statement.

 

Schools have been shut down in 11 States due to the second wave of the pandemic. For many classes, schools have not reopened since the initial shut down of March, 2020. At least four State education boards scheduled to hold examinations in April have announced postponement.

“Unlike State Boards, the CBSE has an all-India character, and therefore, it is essential to hold exams simultaneously throughout the country,” said the Ministry. However, no guidelines were given for State board exams through the country, as had been demanded by some States.

PTI adds:

CICSE reviewing situation, will decide soon

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) on Wednesday said it is reviewing the COVID-19 situation and will soon take a decision on conducting the Class 10 and 12 board exams. The Class 10 exams are scheduled to begin from May 5 while the Class 12 exams began on April 8.

The board exams last year had been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Students were evaluated based on internal assessment. The education board had told the Supreme Court last year that it would not provide students with an option of re-examination and they will solely be evaluated on the basis of internal assessment.

As per the scheme, candidates were assessed based on the best three percentage marks obtained in subjects for which board exams were conducted and the marks of their internal assessment as well as project work were taken into account.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.