Pending CBSE Class 10, 12 board exams to be held in students' schools; no external centres

Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Thursday announced that all pending exams of classes 10 and 12 of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will not be held at external examination centres but at the student's respective schools.

"Pending 10th and 12th Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams will be held at students' schools and not at external centres," the Union Minister said. The "results of the board classes will likely to be declared in July end," he added.

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The CBSE exams of class 10 and 12 were postponed in the wake of the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25 to check the spread of COVID-19 while in North East- Delhi, class 10th exam was affected due to riots. In a recent development, the HRD Ministry announced that the pending class 12 exams will be conducted nationwide, however, the class 10 exams will be only be held for North-East Delhi students.

A CBSE official told ANI, "the schools have been asked to follow guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus and will also ensure social distancing between the students during the exams."

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MHA allows Class 10 and 12 exams, imposes conditions

The Ministry of Home Affairs allowed the Class 10 and 12 Board exams to be conducted by granting an exemption from the nationwide lockdown measures. This was announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Twitter. Since the commencement of the lockdown from March 25, all educational institutions across the country including schools have been shut. The Centre had received requests from the state governments and the CBSE for allowing them to conduct the pending examinations. In view of the “academic interest” of a large number of students, this demand was acceded to. 

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At the same time, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla in a letter addressed to all the Chief Secretaries made it clear that the examinations will be held subject to certain conditions. For instance, no examination centre will be permitted in a containment zone. Wearing of a mask by teachers, students and staff shall be compulsory. Thermal screening and sanitizer must be provided at the centres besides maintaining social distancing. The MHA also directed that the examination schedule of different Boards should be staggered. Moreover, the states and the Union Territories have been permitted to run special buses for the transportation of students to the examination centres. 

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