PremiumIn the view of rising number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, the state government has postpones the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) entrance exam scheduled for 11th April, till further orders.
The decision was taken in an online meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and attended by cabinet ministers, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar, MNS chief Raj Thackeray and senior official, a PTI report said.
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Premium A statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) said the age mentioned by candidates in the form will be considered whenever the exam is held.
Earlier, the state government had also rescheduled the preliminary exam for State Services to March 14 that was earlier scheduled on March 11. However, the postponement order again came on March 14. Following a protest on on that day, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray assured that the exam would be held in a week's time. He had said," Last time when it (MPSC exams) was postponed, I'd assured you it won't be further postponed when next date is declared. Today it was postponed due to COVID. I assure you that postponement isn't for 2-3 months but for few days. Exam will take place in a week's time.". The exam was rescheduled on March 21. The preliminary examination was to take place in April last year but was repeatedly delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
On March 21, the exam was held with all standard operating procedures related to Covid-19 protocols in place. Candidates were seen wearing masks and maintaining social distancing norms.
Maharashtra is the worst-affected state in the second wave of the pandemic. On Thursday, the state logged 56,286 new COVID cases taking the total number of cases to 32,29,547. Meanwhile, with 376 deaths, the toll rose to 57,028, as per the state health bulletin. This is the highest number of Covid-related deaths recorded this year. The cases in the state have been on a rise since the second week of February. Several districts have announced stringent lockdowns and curfews to prevent the COVID-19 virus surge, local authorities ordered to shut down educational institutions.
On Wednesday, Maharashtra government also announced that all students in Class 9 and Class 11 will be passed without taking exams. Earlier, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra had announced that all students from Class 1-8 will be passed without examinations. The state Government, however, announced that the exams for Class 10, Class 12 Board Exams 2021 will be held offline and the date sheet for these exams will be released soon.
(With inputs from agencies)
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