State Board exams postponed amid Covid surge in Maharashtra

The class 10th and 12th state board examinations in Maharashtra have been postponed amid the sharp COVID-19 surge, School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad announced on April 12.”Given the current COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra, we have postponed state board exams for class 10th and 12th. The present circumstances are not conducive for holding exams. Your health is our priority,” Gaikwad said in a video statement issued on her social media handle.As per the now-scrapped schedule, Maharashtra Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams for class 10th students were to be held from April 29 to May 20, via the offline mode, and the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams for Class 12th were to be conducted from April 23 to May 21.”We’ll also be writing to the CBSE, ICSE, IB, Cambridge boards, requesting them to reconsider their exams dates,” Gaikwad added.Scores of students in the state, along with a section of opposition parties, had demanded the government to defer or cancel the examinations in view of the health crisis.Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, in a press briefing earlier this month, demanded the promotion of class 10th and 12th students to the next grades without offline examinations.