HRD Ministry asks CBSE to postpone all exams till March 31

New Delhi: The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on Wednesday directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and all educational institutions in the country to postpone all exams including JEE Mains till March 31 in view of coronavirus outbreak.

“While the maintenance of academic calendar and exam schedule is important, equally important is safety and security of students, who are appearing in various examinations as also of their teachers and parents,” HRD Secretary Amit Khare said in an official communication.

“All ongoing examinations may be rescheduled after Marc 31. This would include CBSE, NIOS as also university exams. All evaluation work may be rescheduled after March 31,” he said.

Stressing on JEE Mains, the HRD Secretary said: “Since JEE Mains may require travel by examinees to different towns and the dates may clash with rescheduled CBSE and other Board exams, therefore, JEE Mains should be rescheduled and the new date of JEE Mains will be announced on March 31 after re-assessment of situation.”

The Ministry has requested all teachers and educational institutes to maintain regular communication with students and resolve their queries. It has also appealed to parents, students, and teachers not to panic.

A total of 151 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in India so far, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday. Three people have so far died of the infection in the country.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. The virus had first emerged in China’s Wuhan city in December last year.