Uncertainty prevails over Class 12 state board exams in West Bengal after COVID surge

KOLKATA: West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education on Wednesday said it is waiting for the state government's decision on holding the Class 12 board examinations scheduled in June, amid a raging second wave of COVID-19.

The council had earlier announced that the higher secondary exams would begin on June 15 and continue till July 2.

"We are waiting for the government's decision on whether the exams can be held as per the scheduled time table or the tests will be postponed or cancelled," Mahua Das, the president of the council, told reporters.

The council had in April said exams for Class 12 students, in a departure from the norm, would be held at their respective schools this year, on account of the spread of the coronavirus infection across the state.

West Bengal's daily tally of new COVID-19 cases breached the 20,000-mark on Tuesday, while 132 more people died in the state taking the death toll to 12,593, the Health Department said in a bulletin.

A record 20,136 new cases took the caseload to 10,32,740,it said.

Das said the council has taken all necessary steps if exams are held.

"It depends whether the Class 10 board exams, scheduled to take place before the higher secondary tests, will finally be held or not," she said.

With the second wave of COVID-19 still raging, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education had on Tuesday said it was yet to arrive at a final decision on whether to go ahead with the Class 10 examinations scheduled from June 1 or postpone the tests.

Board President Kalyanmoy Ganguly had said no decision was taken on postponement or cancellation of the exams.

"I cannot say anything on the issue at present. We are waiting for the government decision," he had said on Tuesday.