In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre has decided to cancel the CBSE Class 12 board exams for this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision was taken after PM Modi chaired an important meeting regarding the prospect of Class 12 Board Examinations on Tuesday evening.
Anxiety among students, parents and teachers must be put to an end, and students should not be forced to appear for exams in such a stressful situation, a government statement quoted the prime minister as saying.
“In view of the uncertain conditions due to COVID-19 and the feedback obtained from various stakeholders, it was decided that Class XII Board Exams would not be held this year,” the statement said.
The meeting was attended by Union Ministers including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with senior officials including Secretary of School Education and Higher Education.
Earlier, the government sources had said that the PM will be briefed on all possible options that have emerged following extensive discussions with all states and other stakeholders.
The CBSE had on April 14 announced cancellation of class 10 exams and postponement of class 12 exams in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.
The Ministry of Education had recently sought detailed suggestions from the states and union territories till on the proposals discussed in a high-level meeting held on the issue.
The government has informed the Supreme Court, which is hearing a plea seeking the exam’s cancellation, it will take a final decision by June 3.
With agency inputs