Call on Class 12 exam by June 1 after state inputs

SEVERAL STATES HAVE RAISED THE DEMAND FOR VACCINATING STUDENTS AND TEACHERS BEFORE CONDUCTING THE BOARD EXAMS, OFFICIALS SAID

NEW DELHI: A high-level meeting called by the Union ministry of education on Sunday to discuss the feasibility of conducting CBSE Class 12 exams remained inconclusive, even as officials said there was “broad consensus” that the test must be held for a limited number of subjects and with a shorter duration after the Covid-19 situation comes under control.

Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” said a decision on the matter was likely to be taken by June 1.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has proposed to conduct exams between July and August, tentatively, and results may be announced in September, an official with knowledge of the matter said. Around 1,400,000 students are scheduled to appear in CBSE

Class 12 exams this year.

At least two states, Maharashtra and Delhi, were of the opinion at the meeting that the exams should not be conducted amid the pandemic. Several states also raised the demand for vaccinating students and teachers before conducting the exams, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Centre has asked states to submit their detailed suggestions on the matter by Tuesday.

The virtual meeting was convened to decide on the Class 12 board exams and subsequent entrance examinations that were postponed earlier due to the second wave of Covid-19 across the country.

Pokhriyal said that an “informed” and “collaborative” decision will be taken on Class 12 exams at the earliest. During the meeting, he also discussed “how important Class 12 exams are to decide the future of students”.

“The meeting was extremely fruitful as we received immensely valuable suggestions. I have requested the state governments to send me their detailed suggestions by May 25. I am confident we will be able to arrive at an informed, collaborative decision regarding the exams and remove the uncertainty among students’ and parent’s minds by informing them of our final decision at the earliest. I want to reiterate that both