The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams for Class 10 have been cancelled and the exams for Class 12 postponed in view of the exponential spike in Covid-19 cases across the country, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank announced on Wednesday.
The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday afternoon here amid demand from students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders to cancel it.
Considering the resurgence of the pandemic and school closures and also taking in account the safety and well-being of students, the Ministry of Education said that a decision was taken to defer the Class 12 board exams and cancel the Class 10 exams.
The CBSE Board exams were scheduled to be held from May 4 to June 7 and the results were to be announced by July 15.
"The Board Exams for Class Xth to be held from 4th May to June 14th, 2021 are hereby cancelled. The results of Class Xth Board will be prepared on the basis of an objective criterion to be developed by the Board," Nishank tweeted.
"Any candidate who is not satisfied with the marks allocated to him or her on this basis, will be given an opportunity to sit in an exam as and when the conditions are conducive to hold the exams," the Minister said.
Nishank further said that the Class 12 exams will be held later, and the situation will be reviewed on June 1 by the CBSE. He also ensured that details regarding the plan will be shared subsequently. "A notice of at least 15 days will be given before the start of the examinations."
The Minister mentioned that the decision was taken after Prime Minister Modi chaired a high-level meeting to review the examinations to be held at various levels in view of the developing Corona situation. Besides Nishank, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Secretary, School and Higher Education Secretaries and other top officials attended the meeting.
The Prime Minister reiterated that the well-being of the students has to be the top priority for the government. He also stated that 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.
The chorus for cancellation of upcoming board exams for class 10 and 12 grew louder on Tuesday in the wake of the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases.
The country is seeing a resurgence of Covid-19 positive cases in many states, with a few states having been affected more than others. In this situation, schools have been shut down in 11 states.
Unlike state Boards, CBSE has an all-India character, and therefore, it is essential to hold exams simultaneously throughout the country.
AAP on streets to save accused, says Swati Maliwal
AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal on Sunday while reflecting on the past 12 years since the horrific Nirbhaya case, said that 'they are now out on the streets to save the accused who made the CCTV footage disappear and formatted the phone'.
Captain Gopichand, five others set to fly to edge of space aboard Blue Origin mission
Captain Gopichand Thotakura, along with five others, is set to fly to the edge of space on Blue Origin's crewed flight mission on Sunday evening.
Air India Express flight's engine catches fire, makes emergency landing
The Air India Express flight from Bengaluru to Kochi had to make a full-scale emergency landing at Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) due to a fire in one of its engines.
Security beefed up at BJP headquarters, traffic diversions made: Delhi Police
Delhi Police on Sunday beefed up security at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters here ahead of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's call for a protest march.
Scorching heatwaves: Rajasthan's Barmer, UP's Kanpur hottest at 46.9 deg C
Rajasthan's Barmer and Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur recorded the maximum temperature of 46.9 degrees Celsius on Saturday, making the two districts the hottest in the country.
Terrorists kill former sarpanch in Shopian, injure tourist couple in Anantnag
Terrorists killed a former sarpanch in J&K's Shopian district on Saturday besides injuring a non-local tourist couple in Anantnag district.
Four generations ruled Delhi but today they can’t even contest four seats: PM Modi rips into Congress
Taking a jab at the grand old party, PM Modi said, “Four generations of Congress ruled the country, but today they are reduced to such a state that they can’t even contest four Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.”
One held with gold biscuits worth Rs 36 lakh
In the fight against the menace of trans-border smuggling in the state of Tripura, BSF on May 18, arrested one smuggler and seized 04 gold biscuits worth Rs 36.6 lakhs.