Home Ministry allows Class 10\, 12 board exams amid lockdown\, results by July-end

Home Ministry allows Class 10, 12 board exams amid lockdown, results by July-end

The Ministry is also planning to declare the board exam results by July-end and evaluation process has already begun for exams which were conducted before the lockdown was announced

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has exempted board examination for classes 10th and 12th from lockdown. The order states that state governments and Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) had sent requests for conducting the Board examinations and the matter has been examined in MHA. Home Ministry's decision comes after the postponement of board examinations due to the nationwide lockdown imposed from March 25 to contain the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Home Minister Amit Shah, in a tweet, said, "Taking into consideration the academic interest of a large number of students, it has been decided to grant exemption from lockdown measures to conduct board examination for classes 10th and 12th, with few conditions like social distancing, face mask, etc, for their safety."

Additionally, the MHA has also imposed certain conditions to conduct Board Examinations:

  • In the Containment Zone, no examination centre will be permitted.
  • Wearing of face masks by teachers, staff and students will be mandatory.
  • There shall be a provision of thermal screening and sanitiser at the centres and social distancing in all the examination centres.
  • In view of examination to be conducted by different Boards, their examination schedules should be staggered.
  • Special buses may be arranged by the states and UTs for transportation of the students to the examination centres.

Additionally, the Ministry is also planning to declare the board exam results by July-end and evaluation process has already begun for exams which were conducted before the lockdown was announced.

According to CBSE officials, students will appear at their schools for the exams and not external test centres. "Students will appear for the exams in their own schools and not external test centres to ensure minimum travel for them. Schools will be responsible for ensuring social distancing norms are followed and students will be required to carry their own sanitiser bottles and cover their face with mask."

The information was also shared by HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' in a live interaction with students aired on DD News.

Usually, board examinations are held at designated test centres for students. This is to ensure minimum bias from schools for their students and to enable independent external invigilators to monitor the examination process.

The schedule has also been decided to ensure that the board exams are completed before competitive examinations such as engineering entrance JEE-Mains, which is scheduled from July 18-23, and medical entrance exam NEET, which is scheduled on July 26.