The fresh surge in the Covid pandemic has resulted in the possible rescheduling of Board exams being discussed with the current plans for the Class X and XII exams to get underway from May 4.

The ministry of education and CBSE officials are considering whether the exams need to be deferred as students and schools are wondering about the feasibility of conducting the exams just 20 days away. Maharashtra has postponed the state board exams to May-end and June, which was earlier scheduled from last week of April.

Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad too postponed the Board exams, which were scheduled to start from April 24, due to panchayat elections and the surge in Covid-19 cases.

“Cases are rising exponentially. Teachers are contracting corona, students and families are down with Covid-19. There is a sense of paranoia. Is CBSE holding the exams just for sake of a formality? It is advisable to review the dates as it is impossible to conduct the exams safely across the country for over 30 lakh students,” said the principal of a private school in Delhi.

Students and parents are also writing to MoE and CBSE as well as taking to the social media requesting for deferring or cancelling the exams. According to a senior MoE official, rescheduling the exams has come up though no decision has been taken so far. “The ministry is monitoring the situation and is in constant touch with CBSE,” said the official.

The official, however, said there are no plans to cancel the Boards altogether or make the exams online at present. “The only point of discussion is the dates as the number of cases are rising. There are still around three weeks left and developments, including the increase in the number of Covid infections and containment zones, are being discussed as part of assessing the situation. The primary discussion point is the safety of the students and teachers and that will not be compromised.”

A senior CBSE official too confirmed about the discussions are underway for the postponement of the Board exams.

While postponing the state Board exams, Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra education minister, also said that they will be writing to other national and international boards like CBSE, ICSE, IB, and Cambridge requesting them to reconsider their exams dates.

With the schools continuing to be operating online since March 2020, some states did open their schools for the senior classes between December 2020 and March 2021 but had to close again due to the rising number of Corona cases. CBSE shifted the Board exams from February 2021to May 2021.