Covid second wave: Centre mulling over rescheduling CBSE Board exams

Centre announced increasing exam centres for CBSE Board exams

The surge in Covid-19 cases, fresh restrictions being imposed by state authorities have compelled the Central Board of Secondary Education to rethink conducting offline Board Examinations that were scheduled to be held May 4 onwards.

Although the government is reconsidering the dates, it is too early for the Board to finalise a new exam schedule said a CBSE official to the Indian express. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Board has postponed their Class 10 and Class 12 Board examination after discussion with students, parents teachers and elected representatives of various parties and will be writing to the national Boards like CBSE and ICSE to delay exams.

The demand for postponing exams has also received support from the opposing Congress party as leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi has written to the Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal to intervene and defer the exams considering the uncontrolled rise in Covid cases. Expressing apprehensions of students assembling at exam centres during a raging pandemic, she said that the Board and the government will be held accountable if a large number of students contracts the Covid infection.

Shiva Sena has also requested the government regarding rescheduling Class X and Class XII CBSE Board Exams.

CBSE Class 10 exams are scheduled between May 4 and June 7 and Class 12 will be held between May 4 and June 15. To ensure the safety and physical distancing of the students, CBSE last month reiterated that exam centres have been increased.

Meanwhile, the National Board of Education has announced that they will not defer the examination as the peak of Covid second wave cannot be predicted. However, the test centres have been increased and all candidates have been allotted test centres in their state of correspondence address to avoid inter-state travel.

India saw as many as 1,61,736 new Covid cases on April 12, Monday taking a cumulative caseload close to 1 crore 37 lakh, the Health Ministry report said. Total patients succumbing to the disease in the last 24 hours is 879.