Maharashtra postpones class 10 and 12 state board exams due to COVID-19

Maharashtra Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad on Monday said that board
exams for class 10 and 12 in the state would be held later on in the months of
May and June due to the currently persisting COVID-19 situation in the state,
reported ANI.

“Given the current COVID19 situation in Maharashtra, we’ve
postponed state board exams for class 10th & 12th. Class 12th exams will be
held by end of May, while 10th standard exams will be in June. Fresh dates will
be announced accordingly”, ANI quoted Gaikwad as saying.

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She further stated that the state government would be writing to other boards such as Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), as well as international boards for consider making changes in their examination schedule.

“We’ll also be writing to the CBSE, ICSE, IB, Cambridge boards, requesting them to reconsider their exams dates”, Gaikwad was further quoted by ANI as saying.

Maharashtra, in recent weeks, has seen a steep surge in the number of daily COVID-19 cases being recorded in the state. 

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On Sunday, Maharashtra recorded 65, 294 new COVID-19 cases, an all-time high in daily numbers since the pandemic broke out in 2020. 

This intense new wave pushed the total caseload in the state to 34,07,245.

The Mumbai division, which includes the city and its satellite towns, alone accounted for 19,953 new cases and 98 deaths.

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Maharashtra had earlier imposed a weekend lockdown and night curfew last week in an attempt to quell the rising numbers.

Apart from Maharashtra, Delhi too is currently under a night curfew.