Maharashtra state board postpones Class 10, 12 exams; check details

State board exams for Class 10 and Class 12 have been postponed in Maharashtra in light of the extremely bad coronavirus situation in the state, education minister Varsha Gaikwad announced on Monday. "Class 12th exams will be held by the end of May, while 10th standard exams will be in June. Fresh dates will be announced accordingly," she told news agency ANI. She said the government will send a communique to the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge boards, requesting them to reconsider their exams dates.

Students from different state boards and CBSE are demanding cancellation or postponement of offline exams for Class 10 and 12. Over 1 lakh students of Class 10 and 12 signed petitions urging the government to cancel the exams or conduct them online. But the CBSE board has so far said that exams will be conducted as per the schedule.

Also read: Rahul, Sonu Sood, Priyanka urge CBSE to reconsider decision to conduct CBSE board exams

Many political leaders and activists are also coming forward to support students, saying offline exams amid the second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic is unfair to students.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has appealed to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to reconsider the decision of conducting board exams in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country. In a tweet, Gandhi wrote, "In the light of the devastating Corona second wave, conducting CBSE exams must be reconsidered. All stakeholders must be consulted before making sweeping decisions".

Also read: CBSE responds as 1 lakh students sign petition to cancel board exams

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also Rahul Gandhi's sister, has also written to the education minister to consider the demands of students for cancelling the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams. Actor Sonu Sood has also come out in support of students who are going to appear in the board exams this year. In a video message, Sood said, "On the behalf of students, I want to put in a request. CBSE and board exams are going to be held offline, I do not think the students are ready to sit for the exams amid the prevailing circumstances".

Class 10 board exams are scheduled to be held from May 4 and June 7, while Class 12 exams will be held from May 4 to June 15, as per the date sheet.

Also read: #CancelBoardExams: Students continue to spar with CBSE