Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has sought postponement of the Class X and XII Board exams in order to allay the uncertainty among students and parents.
The Chief Minister has written to Union Education Minister Ramesh ‘Nishank’ Pokhriyal, pointing to the prevailing situation and stressing that “it would only be appropriate that a decision is taken forthwith to postpone the Class X and XII Board examinations.” This, he said, would also allow the Union government and States to plan better for conduct of examinations once the situation normalises.
Seeking the Minister’s early intervention, the Chief Minister noted that it was difficult to precisely predict as to when the surge in COVID-19 cases will be arrested and by when a consistent decline in trend will be seen. Further, different States are at different stages of the second surge, with some likely to peak a little earlier as compared to those where the surge has commenced later, he pointed out.
Citing the increasing national COVID-19 figures, Mr. Amarinder said that “the steady increase in COVID-19 cases in most States of the country has created a sense of great apprehension and anguish among students and parents alike regarding the Board examinations for classes X and XII.”
In Punjab too, the State government is receiving requests from various quarters seeking postponement of the Board examinations by the State Board as well as by CBSE and ICSE, he added.
