Odisha government postpones all board exams after Covid-19 surge

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Thursday postponed all board examinations including the Class 10 and 12 tests in the wake of spiraling COVID-19 cases in the state.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made the announcement after reviewing the coronavirus situation in Odisha, where active cases have surpassed the 14,000-mark.

The Odisha Board of Secondary Education (BSE) conducts the annual matriculation examination and the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) is in charge of the Class 12 examination, both of which have been postponed.

The tests for Class 10 were scheduled to start from May 3 and the Plus-II examinations from May 18.

Panaik said the state government will take a decision on conducting the examinations after reviewing the pandemic situation in the first week of June.

"The students will be given adequate time before the examinations," he said in a statement.

The students of Class 9 and 11 will be promoted to the subsequent standard without appearing for any test, the CM added.

Patnaik also issued instructions to stop physical classes for students of Standard 10 and 12 from Monday in all government, government-aided and private schools affiliated to the Odisha State Secondary Education Board and Odisha Adarsha Vidyalay Sangathan.

All English medium schools and their hostels in the state will also be closed from Monday, he said.

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