The CBSE Class 12 board exams have been postponed and the Class 10 exams have been cancelled, the government said on Wednesday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met top officials from the Education Ministry.

“The results of Class 10^th Board will be prepared on the basis of an objective criterion to be developed by the Board. Any candidate who is not satisfied with the marks allocated to him/her on this basis will be given an opportunity to sit in an exam as and when the conditions are conducive to hold the exams,” the ministry said in a press release.

As for the Class 12 exam, the government will review the situation on June 1 to decide fresh dates and make an announcement at least two weeks before the start of the exam. The Class 10 and 12 exams were earlier scheduled to start from May 4.

Officials in the ministry, however, clarified that cancellation or conducting online examinations for Class 12 students is not an option. “CBSE is a national Board with students spread across the country. It’s not possible to conduct the exam online at short notice. How will the student familiarise themselves with the online pattern so quickly?” an official said.

The announcement comes in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases across the country and a growing chorus of student voices and state governments demanding deferment of the Board exams.

On Tuesday, Arvind Kejriwal urged the union government to reconsider the exam schedule. Maharashtra has made a similar demand, requesting the Education Ministry to develop a national consensus and possibly reschedule Class X and XII CBSE and other school Board exams.

The demand has also received the Opposition’s support. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have urged Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal to intervene and direct CBSE to reconsider its decision to go ahead with the Board examinations in May despite the “massive and uncontrolled” rise in Covid-19 cases. In her letter, Vadra stated that lakhs of children and their parents have expressed “fears and apprehensions” about assembling at examination centres in the middle of the second wave of Covid-19. She also urged the government to consult all stakeholders before making “sweeping decisions”. School boards of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have already deferred their Board exams.