Delaying board exams till August will hamper college admissions, plans to study abroad, Principals

A high-level meet could not arrive at a decision on the pending Class 12 board exams on Sunday, with education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank seeking detailed suggestions from state governments by May 25 and asserting that "an informed, collaborative" final call will be taken at the earliest.

The Minister of Higher Education in Kerala in the meeting informed that after the completion of the general examinations in Classes X / XII in the state in April, all the preparations have been made for the assessment camps to start in the first week of June and the results to be declared in the month of July. Kerala minister also said that state government will take all necessary precautions to ensure that if the Ministry of Education decides to conduct CBSE Class XII General Examinations and competitive examinations for professional courses such as JEE / NEET. Kerala govt in the meeting also gave a proposal that Centre should vaccinate all school children against Covid.

Class X exams of the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education have been cancelled. Students to be assessed based on internal marks. Exam in July for entry to science stream and diploma programmes. A decision on conduct of Class XII Goa Board exams will be taken later, based on schedule of national entrance exams, chief minister Pramod Sawant said.

For CBSE schools, Centre has sought feedback from states on two options it has proposed for the conduct of exams. I've given our initial feedback but have conveyed that will hold further deliberations with the chief minister and legal experts on both CBSE and our own board exams.

Odisha school and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash said “The Centre has provided us with two options. We could conduct the exams after the covid situation improves or we could cut short the exams to make it easy for the students. Since the state is busy in preparation for ensuing cyclone Yaas, we will take a decision after it passes.”

"In today's meet with CBSE, we discussed that providing safe environment for students is our priority. We will tell the SC that last year was unfortunate for students. Second #COVID19 wave is going on and an anticipated third wave is yet to come," news agency ANI quoted Maharashtra Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad.

Karnataka state primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar said it’s important to conduct class 12 exams in the interest of students. Karnataka boards II pre-university exam is planned for a time when the cases dip. Students will be notified 15-20 days in advance. Exams should be held in some simplified format.

"Ninety-five per cent of Class 12 students are above the age of 17.5 years. The Centre should talk to experts if they can be given Covishield or Covaxin vaccines," Sisodia said. The Centre should also talk to Pfizer for the vaccination of Class 12 students," said Sisodia.

Conducting Class 12 board exams before vaccinating students can prove to be a big mistake, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told the Centre on Sunday. Sisodia made the suggestion at a high-level meeting called by the Ministry of Education which is currently underway. "Raised the demand for making arrangements for vaccinating Class 12 students before board exams at a meeting with the central government. Conducting the examination by toying with students' safety will prove to be a big mistake. First vaccine, then exams," he tweeted in Hindi.

Priyanka Gandhi bats for Class 12th exam cancellation, slams govt for stretching decision for monthsAsserting that the second wave of Covid-19 has shown that children are vulnerable to new strains, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday reiterated her call for not holding the CBSE Class 12 exams, and slammed the government for stretching the decision on it for months. The Congress general secretary said expecting children who are already under immense pressure to sit for their exams wearing all sorts of protective gear for hours at a stretch day after day is "insensitive and unfair".

A high-level meeting, chaired by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to discuss the conduct of CBSE exams for Class XII and entrance examinations for professional courses, is currently underway. The Education Ministers of States and Union Territories, Education Secretaries and Chairpersons of State Examination Boards and stakeholders, in presence of Union Ministers Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Prakash Javadekar, Smriti Irani are presently attending the meeting."The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education and CBSE are exploring options regarding conducting the examinations, keeping in mind the safety and security of the students and the teachers. The Department of Higher Education is also deliberating upon the finalization of the dates of examinations for institutions of higher learning," Pokhriyal stated in its letter to the states and UTs on Saturday.