The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), India has postponed all board examinations in India and cancelled those that were to be held abroad between March 19-31 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is a precautionary measure and in compliance with the instructions received from the Secretary, Department of Higher Education/ School Education and Literacy, Government of India, CBSE said in its press release.
CBSE schools in foreign countries
There are several CBSE schools located in 25 countries and these countries are also under lockdown and/or have decided to close down the schools for various lengths of time.
Under such circumstances the Board will not be in a position to:
- Hold differential sets of exams for each of these countries.
- Bring the answer books to India for evaluation purposes
Therefore, the Board has decided to not hold any more exams for the students of class 10 and 12 in CBSE schools located outside India.
The system of marking/assessment for the purpose of declaring results will be worked out by the Board in days to come.
Classwise Updates
In view of the prevailing worldwide spread of COVID-19, countrywide lockdown, and in view of the academic future of students, the Board has advised/informed all affiliated schools of the following one-time measure:
1. Students of Class 1 to 8: May be promoted to the next class/grade.
2. Students of Class 9 and 11: Advised to be promoted to the next grades on the basis of all the school-based assessments including project work, periodic tests, term exams, etc. conducted so far.
3. Students of Class 10 and 12 board exams: Postponed (in India). New schedule for examinations to be announced.
The Board will give notice of about 10 days to all stakeholders before starting the Board examinations, it stated.
Conduct of Board exams
The Board was not able to conduct exams on
- 8 examination days due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation
- 4 examination days due to the law and order situation in North East Delhi District
- 6 examination days for a few students from and around the above District
In the present situation, the Board has decided as follows:
- The Board will conduct examinations for only main subjects that will be required for promotion and maybe crucial for admissions in higher educational institutions.
- For the rest of the subjects, the Board will not hold examinations; the instructions for marking/assessment in all such cases shall be separately issued by the Board.
Therefore, as and when the Board is in a position to hold examinations, it shall hold examinations only for the 29 subjects as given in the table below.
Evaluation work
Due to the COVID-19 situation, the Board has not been able to continue its evaluation work and will come out with further instructions for evaluation in the changed circumstances. These will be announced at a later date.
The Board will give 3-4 days’ notice to restart the evaluation work.
Avoiding rumours
To avoid being misled by rumours, the CBSE urged all stakeholders to only trust the official announcements made on the Board’s website and social media handles.
“Though the present set of circumstances are not within the control of the Board, the Board deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to all its stakeholders, and seeks their patience and cooperation in these difficult times, with our assurance that the Board is working constantly behind the scenes to take care of the academic future of its students”, the press release said.
“The Board is committed to the academic welfare of its students; therefore, the Board is constantly assessing the situation, and is keen to mitigate the anxiety of the students, parents, and schools”, said Anurag Tripathi Secretary, CBSE.
