PremiumHolding class 12 board examinations in Jharkhand would not be appropriate in view of the present Covid-19 situation, said state Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday.
"If the suggestions received from the stakeholders are considered, there is a consensus on the postponement of the examination. People feel that maintaining social distance will not be possible if the exams are conducted and children can get infected," said Soren.
"Many students and their families are going through mental stress, while several children have lost near and dear ones," he said, adding that conducting the examinations under such circumstances would be inappropriate.
The chief minister said he has received proposals for holding the exams online as well as reducing their duration.
"All such points are very important. Keeping all these things in mind, I have suggested that the date of all upcoming examinations should be fixed only after the pandemic comes under control," Soren said.
"I will send my detailed suggestion in writing to the Central Board of Secondary Education within two days," he said.
The statements came after a high-level meeting was convened by Union minister Rajnath Singh to take a call on the pending class 12 board exams and subsequent entrance examinations that were postponed due to the raging second wave of Covid-19 in the country.
Following the two-hour-long meet, Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said states and union territories have been asked to submit their detailed suggestions on the matter by 25 May.
"I am confident that we will be able to arrive at an informed and collaborative decision regarding the class 12 board exams and remove uncertainty among students' and parents' minds at the earliest," said Pokhriyal.
During the meeting, Pokhriyal noted the importance of class 12 examinations for the future of students.
“The minister said, keeping in view the present circumstances, the government decided to cancel the CBSE board examinations of Class X and evaluate through internal assessment. But class 12 examinations are very important to decide the future of a student," an education ministry statement said.
The ministry said Rajnath Singh “reiterated that the priority of the government is to conduct all examinations in a safe and secure environment."
According to sources, the CBSE has proposed conducting exams between 15 July and 26 August and the result to be declared in September.
The board also proposed two options: conducting regular exams for 19 major subjects at notified centres or conducting shorter duration exams at respective schools where students are enrolled.
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