The Central Board of Secondary Education declared On Tuesday that the class 12 board exams won't be conducted this year.
The board will now have to compile the results of the class 12 board exams, as per well-defined objective criteria. Besides that, students can, later on, appear for the exam, if CBSE allows, and the COVID-19 situation improves.
This decision comes in the midst of a high-level meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday. The ongoing meeting is being attended by many senior cabinet ministers such as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, etc. However, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' is absent, as he has been admitted for post-COVID complications.
Besides the ministers, the meeting is being attended by senior officials, such as the Secretary of School Education and Higher Education.
PM Modi stressed the fact that the safety and health of numerous students should not be compromised.
Government of India has decided to cancel the Class XII CBSE Board Exams. After extensive consultations, we have taken a decision that is student-friendly, one that safeguards the health as well as future of our youth. https://t.co/vzl6ahY1O2
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 1, 2021
A similar meeting was held earlier, on May 23, which was chaired by Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh. It was attended by Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar, and the education ministers, and secretaries of several states and Union territories.
After the meeting, the union education minister had announced that the final decision, regarding the CBSE class 12 exams, will be taken on June 1.
Arvind Kejriwal supports cancellation of class 12 exams
On Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, appealed to the government to cancel the class 12 exams, due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation. He said that the students should instead be evaluated on the basis of their past performance.
12वीं की परीक्षा को लेकर बच्चे और पेरंट्स काफ़ी चिंतित हैं। वे चाहते हैं कि बिना वैक्सिनेशन, 12वी की परीक्षा नहीं होनी चाहिए
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 1, 2021
मेरी केंद्र सरकार से अपील है कि 12वीं की परीक्षा रद्द की जाए। पिछले performance के आधार पर उन्हें आँकलन किया जाए।
He then commended the government's latest move, regarding the exams.
I am glad 12th exams have been cancelled. All of us were very worried abt the health of our children. A big relief
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 1, 2021
CBSE class 12 exams were postponed
On April 14, the CBSE class 12 exams were postponed, while the class 10 exams were cancelled. This led to a lot of uproar from both students and parents alike.